Mike Vrabel’s QB Move Quietly Papers Over Cracks After Patriots Left Wanting More From Drake Maye

Mike Vrabel didn’t waste any time learning that the Patriots‘ QB situation required more than raw potential. Drake Maye is quite possibly the future in Foxborough. But preseason served as a reminder that potential doesn’t always come fully sharpened. Against Minnesota, he played with poise, completing 4 of 7 passes for 46 yards and showing the touch that made him a top draft pick. However, against Washington, he had trouble finding a rhythm. Managing just 12 yards on limited throws while coughing up a costly fumble. That showed just how thin things can appear when a 22-year-old is still learning on the fly. For Vrabel, it was a call to action: talent is the foundation. But depth and insulation are the drywall preventing the season from cracking apart too early.

The Patriots’ head coach has pulled out a band-aid solution for an issue that can’t yet be solved outright. By relying on Joshua Dobbs and Tommy DeVito in the quarterback room, Vrabel is patching up a roster weakness without asking too much of Maye too quickly. Dobbs has a talent for walking into chaos and looking sharp for a game or two. But his history indicates that longer periods reveal his weaknesses. Meanwhile, DeVito is as much a folk hero as he is a quarterback. And though the “Tommy Cutlets” mania still holds some power outside the confines of a stadium, his in-stadium resume is winless in his last four games, with two of his three career victories against struggling foes in 2023. Not exactly yelling long-term safety net.

Nevertheless, by bringing both of them in, Vrabel is ensuring that if the Maye project encounters turbulence, the season does not dip right away. It’s not a permanent solution for the issue. It’s a stay of execution on the wall collapsing today, so that you can protect it tomorrow. Maye is supposed to mature into the position, but Vrabel also understands that making a young quarterback carry a full roster that’s undergoing renovation is a regression formula. So, he’s stacked the room with quarterbacks who can steady the ship for a week or two. Which is long enough to give Maye time to absorb without the team collapsing around him.

NFL, American Football Herren, USA Cleveland Browns Training Camp Aug 4, 2024 Cleveland Browns advisor Mike Vrabel during practice at the Browns training facility in Berea, Ohio. Berea Ohio USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xBobxDonnanx 20240731_bsd_sd2_238

And it’s not the first time a team has walked the thin line. In 2016, the Dallas Cowboys were counted out after Tony Romo’s preseason injury left them with a rookie quarterback, Dak Prescott, and Mark Sanchez. They were ranked in the bottom 10 by analysts. Only to see Prescott have a season of 3,667 passing yards, 23 touchdowns, and only four interceptions. The Cowboys shocked the league with a 13–3 record and the NFC’s number one seed.

The Philadelphia Eagles were in the same predicament a year later. Carson Wentz had them rolling with MVP-type numbers before he blew out the ACL, and suddenly it was Nick Foles’ team. What looked like a disaster ended with a Super Bowl win, beating Tom Brady and the Patriots 41–33 in one of the most iconic games. History tells us that the depth chart doesn’t always spell doom. If the starter takes a leap or the backups ignite, things can turn in the blink of an eye. Vrabel is banking on that history to recur in New England.

Patriots still waiting on Drake Maye to deliver

Despite all of Vrabel’s patchwork, the core remains the same: Drake Maye. Maye had “a relatively good training camp,” according to the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed. But fell short of the huge jump some were expecting from him. He handled the ball carefully in practice situations but fumbled it in scrimmages and preseason games. In three games of preseason, the stats tell the story: glimpses of assurance, pockets of doubt, and just enough uncertainty to keep the coaching staff cautious.

FILE PHOTO: Aug 15, 2024; Foxborough, MA, USA. New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) looks to pass the ball against the Philadelphia Eagles. During the second half at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo

The pressure on Maye is immense. Drafted third overall in 2024, he was the quarterback promoted as the man who could finally pull New England out of its post-Brady land. But quarterbacks don’t necessarily progress in a straight line to greatness. Even Kyed concedes that although Maye hasn’t made the leap some hoped for, he’s exhibited positive signs in his command and leadership. The question is whether those skills carry over to wins in the real games.

Patience is the toughest sell in Foxborough, a town that used to gauge seasons by Super Bowls. Now, fans gauge them by steps forward. If Maye takes that legendary “Year 2 jump,” the Patriots can crawl out of the bottom 10 in quarterback rankings and start to see light. Or else, Vrabel’s patchwork will be pushed beyond what he wants. And the Dobbs–DeVito safety net will begin to resemble a thin rope. Fantasy managers can consider Maye a midrange QB2 with potential, but for the Patriots, the stakes are considerably higher. His development can be the difference between a repeat in the vault and the first steps toward becoming relevant again.

So while Mike Vrabel might have devised a nifty solution to covering over cracks for the short term, the larger task is squarely on Maye’s shoulders.

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