Source: Patriots promoting 1st-round rookie Drake Maye to starting QB vs. Texans

The Drake Maye era is here.

The New England Patriots plan to start Maye at quarterback on Sunday against the Houston Texans. Yahoo Sports’ Jori Epstein confirmed the news Tuesday following a report from NFL Network.

Maye will take over at quarterback for veteran Jacoby Brissett, who has started New England’s first five games amid a 1-4 start.

The Patriots drafted Maye out of North Carolina with the No. 3 overall pick in April. His position as New England’s starting quarterback was never a question of if, but when. Now we have that answer. Maye will make his first NFL start on Sunday.

Why start Maye now?

New England started the season with low expectations, leading to speculation that the Patriots would opt to sit Maye as a rookie to develop from the bench and avoid playing behind a shaky offensive line and alongside limited skill players. Maye reportedly started New England’s training camp facing a notable learning curve, but flashed the arm talent and athleticism in the preseason that made him the No. 3 pick in the draft.

Head coach Jerod Mayo ultimately named Brissett the starter after the conclusion of the preseason and training camp. The Patriots then pulled off the biggest upset of Week 1 with a 16-10 win over the Bengals in Cincinnati.

But the Patriots have been in a free fall since. They’ve lost four consecutive games, including a 24-3 defeat to the New York Jets in Week 3, and have failed to score more than 13 points in three straight weeks.

New England enters Week 6 ranked 31st out of 32 teams in total offense and last in the league in passing yards per game. Brissett has completed 58.5% of his passes this season for 139.2 yards per game with two touchdowns and one interception.

Mayo, meanwhile, has repeatedly stated that Brissett “is our quarterback until I say he’s not the quarterback.” He hasn’t yet publicly declared that Brissett is no longer the Patriots’ quarterback, but that appears to be the case internally in New England.

The situation around the quarterback position hasn’t improved in New England, but the Patriots have determined that it’s time to see what Maye can do.