Will Brady call a Patriots game in 2024 with Drake Maye at QB?
Will Brady call a Patriots game in 2024 with Drake Maye at QB? originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
New England Patriots quarterbacks of past and future linked up over the weekend when Tom Brady met Drake Maye during the NFL Players Association's Rookie Premiere event in Los Angeles.
It might 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 with FOX under the massive 10-year, $375 million contract he signed with the network back in 2022. Maye, meanwhile, is beginning his first season with the Patriots, who selected him third overall in the 2024 NFL Draft with the hope that he eventually can 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 hinges on Maye seeing the field somewhat early in the 2024 season, which is far from a guarantee. Barring a stellar training camp and preseason from Maye, the expectation is that veteran Jacoby Brissett will be the Week 1 starter and 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 matter of how many Patriots games Brady will call, period: FOX likely will deploy its No. 1 broadcast team of Brady and play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt for the biggest games of the week, and that generally means avoiding bad teams like New England, which went 4-13 last season and is favored in zero games in 2024.
Brady calling a Maye game certainly isn't out of the realm of possibility, though. To assess the likelihood of that happening, here's a look at the Patriots games FOX has this season along an analysis of two factors: the percent chance of that game being Maye's debut (set by our Patriots Insider Phil Perry) and the odds of Brady calling that game for FOX.
Week 2: Patriots vs. Seahawks, 1 p.m. ET
Perry's odds of Drake Maye starting: 0.1 percent
This seems like the least likely Brady-Maye game. If Maye isn't starting Week 1, it would make little sense to roll him out for Game 2, while a 1 p.m. game between two mediocre-at-best teams seems beneath Burkhardt and Brady. Next.
Week 4: Patriots at 49ers, 4:05 p.m. ET
Perry's odds of Drake Maye starting: 3 percent
It might be tempting for FOX executives to have Brady call a matchup featuring his NFL team of 20 years and the team he grew up idolizing in the Bay Area. But this would be a pretty rough spot for the Patriots to put Maye in, so the odds of Brissett starting this game seem pretty high. We could also see Brady and Burkhardt getting the Eagles-Buccaneers playoff rematch this week.
Week 5: Patriots vs. Dolphins, 1 p.m. ET
Perry's odds of Drake Maye starting: 35 percent
As Perry pointed out last week, a home game against a divisional opponent might not be a bad spot 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 a ton of intriguing matchups this week.
The odds of Brady calling this game may come down to who's at QB for New England.
Week 10: Patriots at Bears, 1 p.m. ET
Perry's odds of Drake Maye starting: 10 percent
Drake Maye vs. Caleb Williams in Chicago? Now that would be a good spot to have Brady on the call. If Maye is already the starter at this point, this seems like a no-brainer for FOX, even with San Francisco vs. Tampa Bay also on the schedule.
If Maye isn't the starter already, however, it might not be the wisest idea to have him make his debut on the road against Chicago's young, talented defense.
Week 11: Rams at Patriots, 1 p.m. ET
Perry's odds of Drake Maye starting: 42 percent
Perry likes the idea of New England rolling out Maye at home against an Aaron Donald-less Rams defense. This might be a tough sell for FOX, though, especially with Caleb Williams and the Bears vs. the NFC North rival Green Bay Packers looming as a potential Brady game.
