Patriots’ ‘Drake Maye is a game manager’

Cam Newton had already doubled down on not shopping for into Drake Maye and the Patriots this season.

Now, he’s tripling down on his stance.

On his “4th&1” podcast, Newton, a former Patriots quarterback, defined why he believes that the system Maye is enjoying beneath now, in comparison with his rookie yr, is the rationale for his success.

“Drake Maye is nicely and succesful, has all of the upside, and skillset. However final yr, beneath his participant’s standing, a head coach was fired,” Newton stated. “That’s to not say, ‘Aw, man, you’ll be able to’t say that. That wasn’t all Drake Maye, he was a younger quarterback.’ However, does Jerod Mayo have a job proper now? Offensive coordinator was Alex Van Pelt. Is he an offensive coordinator wherever on this league?”

It’s fairly evident that New England’s teaching employees in 2024-25 is night time and day completely different in comparison with the personnel at the moment employed. Nevertheless, Maye nonetheless confirmed flashes of what he was able to in his rookie season.

In hindsight, Mayo merely wasn’t able to be a NFL head coach. Plus, the employees he employed was not ok to make up for his personal shortcomings.

That will doubtless have been a recipe for catastrophe for any rookie signal-caller.

Newton went on to attribute Maye’s spectacular sophomore marketing campaign to his new Patriots coaches, simply as he attributed his lesser first season to his New England coaches of final yr.

“Now insert Mike Vrabel. Now insert a dynamic play-caller in Josh McDaniels. The system is correct,” he stated. “So I can’t simply sit up right here and say Drake Maye is a game-changer proper now as a result of we’ve solely had one season of dynamic play.”

To cap it off, Newton declared that not solely is Maye not a game-changer, however slightly a recreation supervisor.

“What I’m telling you is the reality. The individual that’s delivering the reality, you could not like. … Drake Maye is a recreation supervisor,” he stated.

This label sounds much like the one former Patriots QB Tom Brady was given, particularly early in his profession, by opposing followers and a few media.

Newton even referred to Brady as a recreation supervisor in February 2024, however made it a degree to name him that as a praise.

“Tom Brady was enjoying sooner than folks have been pondering,” he said. “Enjoying sooner than what you’re pondering. His capability to go from one test to the subsequent test, it was masterful. So dare I not point out elite recreation managing as an artwork of swordsman to have the ability to assault a protection. It’s an elite talent.”

The distinction is, after all, Brady is regarded by many as the best QB of all time, whereas the 23-year-old Maye has but to complete his second season within the NFL.

However, Maye is producing an objectively nice season. He has thrown for 4,203 yards, fourth-most by any QB. He’s averaging a league-leading (amongst full-time starters) 8.9 yards per go try, 71.7 completion proportion, 76.5 QB Score and 112.9 passer ranking. Maye’s 30 touchdowns are the third-most within the NFL.

To not point out, on paper, his receiving corps is basically mid-tier gamers.

Newton has made his opinion about Maye and the Patriots well-known in 2025-26. In October, he pushed back towards Damien Woody’s notion that Maye was a top-five QB within the league. Newton additionally referred to as New England “fool’s gold” in November, citing its schedule as a motive why he thought the crew wouldn’t fare nicely within the playoffs.

These feedback led to Maye brushing Newton off, even saying that he “doesn’t even know what present he’s on” when requested concerning the former QB’s quotes. This then led to ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith calling Maye “a liar,” which solely added gas to the media fireplace over Maye.

However, amidst the surface drama, Maye remained level-headed and put himself atop the MVP dialog as the top of the common season nears.

Kaley Brown

Sports activities producer

Kaley Brown is a sports activities producer for Boston.com, the place she covers the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots, and Purple Sox.