FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Quick-hit thoughts and notes around the New England Patriots and NFL:
1. Maye-less preseason: The preseason is over, and the final starting quarterback numbers are in.
Of the league's 32 teams, 12 didn't play their established top quarterback in a game. That includes Drake Maye's Patriots and Sam Darnold's Seattle Seahawks, putting an added twist on the Super Bowl LX rematch that opens the 2026 regular season on Wednesday, Sept. 9 (NBC, 8:20 p.m. ET).
Will both quarterbacks be rusty without feeling game speed? Is the element of surprise in play more than it would have otherwise been?
Those are among the compelling questions to be answered in Seattle.
Also of note is that keeping Maye on the sideline throughout didn't appear to be Patriots coach Mike Vrabel's original intention.
When Vrabel first connected with Cleveland Browns coach Todd Monken about plans for last Thursday's preseason finale, Monken shared they "had talked about initially wanting to play our starters -- get them a series or two." But Monken said both coaches ultimately came to the same conclusion: "We both felt like we were thin, especially up front on both sides of the ball. We just felt we'd be better off not playing our starters in the game."
So it was a Maye-less, starter-less preseason in New England, which Vrabel explained further late Thursday night after his backups were thumped 37-13 in a low-energy, short-week loss.
"We just wanted to try to get to the regular season with the guys that we had... I know that's a difficult decision. I don't think there's a right or wrong answer," Vrabel said.
Maye enters his third NFL season and second with Mike Vrabel as his head coach. AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty How teams approach the preseason with their starting quarterback is a reflection, in part, of each coach and the organizational philosophy. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, for example, hasn't played in a preseason game since 2019. Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson hasn't played in a preseason game since 2021.
Other teams that didn't have their starter play in the preseason this year include the Steelers (Aaron Rodgers), Colts (Daniel Jones), Jaguars (Trevor Lawrence), Chiefs (Patrick Mahomes), Eagles (Jalen Hurts), Lions (Jared Goff), Saints (Tyler Shough) and Rams (Matthew Stafford). In the case of the Colts' Jones and Chiefs' Mahomes, they are both returning from serious injuries sustained in 2025.