The New England Patriots completed a preseason that did not feature starter Drake Maye, one of 12 NFL teams that kept their established top quarterback out of exhibition games this year, according to the report. Maye and Seattle’s Sam Darnold headline a group of starters who did not play ahead of the Super Bowl LX rematch that opens the regular season in Seattle on Wednesday, Sept. 9 (NBC, 8:20 p.m. ET).
Patriots coach Mike Vrabel said he initially discussed playing starters with Cleveland Browns coach Todd Monken, who told him they “had talked about initially wanting to play our starters — get them a series or two.” Both coaches ultimately concluded their teams were “thin, especially up front on both sides of the ball,” and agreed not to play starters in the preseason finale, the report said.
The decision left New England with a starter-less preseason and came into sharper relief after the Patriots’ backup unit lost the finale 37-13. Vrabel explained the choice after the game: “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,” he said, according to the report.
League-wide precedent for sitting starters is varied. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott has not played in a preseason game since 2019, and Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson has not played in a preseason game since 2021, the report noted. Other teams that kept their starters out this preseason 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). The Colts’ Jones and the Chiefs’ Mahomes are both returning from serious injuries sustained in 2025.
Coaching staffs cited joint practices as an alternative preparation method. Jaguars coach Liam Coen said Trevor Lawrence benefited from four joint practices, and Vrabel estimated Maye received about 84 full-team reps across three joint practices (one with the Colts, two with the Eagles). The report notes some coaches still value live-game reps, quoting former Patriots coach Bill Belichick: “You need 21 other guys out there so you can simulate football and the reactions of football.”
