Will Brady call a Patriots game in 2024 with Drake Maye at QB? originally appeared in NBC Sports Boston
New England Patriots quarterbacks past and future came together over the weekend when Tom Brady met Drake Maye during the NFL Players Association’s Rookie Premiere event in Los Angeles.
It may not be the last time the two cross paths this year.
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Brady is set to begin his first season as an NFL broadcaster on FOX under the massive 10-year, $375 million contract he signed with the network in 2022. Maye, meanwhile, is beginning his first season with the Patriots, who selected him third overall in the 2024 NFL Draft with the hopes that he can eventually help New England win its first postseason game since Brady left Foxboro.
So how great would it be for Patriots fans if Brady was the color commentator for one of Maye’s first games in a Patriots uniform — or even the rookie’s NFL debut?
Of course, this storyline depends on Maye seeing the field somewhat early in the 2024 season, which is far from a guarantee. Barring an excellent training camp and preseason from Maye, the expectation is that veteran Jacoby Brissett will be the Week 1 starter and will continue in that role for at least a few weeks to give Maye time to develop and avoid throwing the 21-year-old into the fire with an inexperienced offensive line and subpar wide receiver group.
There’s also the question of how many Patriots games Brady will call, period: FOX will likely deploy its No. 1 broadcast team of Brady and play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt for the biggest games of the week, and that usually means avoiding bad games. teams like New England, who went 4-13 last season and are the favorites in zero games in 2024.
Brady calling a Maye game is certainly not out of the question. To gauge the likelihood of this happening, take a look at the Patriots games FOX has this season, along with an analysis of two factors: the percentage chance this game is Maye’s debut (set by our Patriots Insider Phil Perry) and Brady’s chances of finishing the game for FOX.
Week 2: Patriots vs. Seahawks, 1 p.m. ET
Drake Maye Perry’s chances of starting: 0.1 percent
This appears to be the least likely Brady-Maye game. If Maye isn’t starting Week 1, it wouldn’t make sense to throw him into Game 2, while a 1 p.m. game between two mediocre teams at best seems beneath Burkhardt and Brady. Next.
Week 4: Patriots at 49ers, 4:05 p.m. ET
Drake Maye Perry’s chances of starting: 3 percent
It might be tempting for FOX executives to have Brady call a matchup between his NFL team of 20 years and the team he grew up idolizing in the Bay Area. But this would be a very difficult situation for the Patriots to put Maye in, so the chances of Brissett starting this game seem very high. We also got to see Brady and Burkhardt have the Eagles-Buccaneers playoff rematch this week.
Week 5: Patriots vs. Patriots Dolphins, 1 p.m. ET
Drake Maye Perry’s chances of starting: 35 percent
As Perry pointed out last week, a home game against a divisional opponent might not be a bad place to give Maye his first NFL start if the Patriots are struggling. And outside of Jayden Daniels and the Washington Commanders facing the Cleveland Browns and Caleb Williams and the Chicago Bears facing the lowly Carolina Panthers, FOX doesn’t have many intriguing matchups this week.
Brady’s chances of finishing this game may depend on who is at QB for New England.
Week 10: Patriots at Bears, 1 p.m. ET
Drake Maye Perry’s chances of starting: 10 percent
Drake Maye vs. Caleb Williams in Chicago? Now what would be a good place to have Brady on the call. If Maye is already a starter at this point, that seems like a no-brainer for FOX, even with San Francisco vs. Tampa Bay also on the schedule.
If Maye isn’t already a starter, however, it might not be the wisest idea to have him make his debut on the road against Chicago’s young and talented defense.
Week 11: Rams at Patriots, 1 p.m. ET
Drake Maye Perry’s chances of starting: 42 percent
Perry likes the idea of New England starting Maye at home against a Rams defense without Aaron Donald. However, that could be a tough sell for FOX, especially with Caleb Williams and the Bears against the NFC North rival Green Bay Packers looming as a potential Brady game.
