Jerod Mayo and the Patriots are sticking with Jacoby Brissett as their quarterback entering Week 4 against the 49ers. 

But after giving rookie QB Drake Maye his first NFL reps over the final minutes of Thursday’s loss to the Jets, the Patriots might be ready to hand the keys to their offense to their first-round selection sooner rather than later. 

According to Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer, the Patriots are moving forward with a plan to give Maye starting reps at some point this season — even amid the evident concerns regarding the team’s woeful offensive line. 

“What I’ve heard over the last week or so is, the expectation is that he will play this year. And I think this is part of the ramping-up process,” Breer said on NBC Sports Boston’s Sports Sunday, “I don’t think they’ve put a timeline on him yet, but I think it’s going to come down to being able to support him properly — which they didn’t show they could do on Thursday night — and then him continuing the little steps forward that he’s made over the last few weeks in practice.”

Even though Mayo reaffirmed his commitment to Brissett as the team’s starting quarterback on Monday, he did note that New England is still doing its due diligence when it comes to getting Maye prepared for starting reps further down the road. 

Earlier this month, Mayo confirmed that Maye is currently earning about 30 percent of the snaps with the first team during practices — a heavy allocation of reps for a backup QB. 

Beyond those increased reps, Breer added that the Patriots are giving Maye ample time to build a rapport with offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt and quarterbacks coach TC McCartney. 

“One thing that they’re doing in practice, because they have Jacoby Brissett here who played for Alex Van Pelt (in Cleveland), when there’s the first offense out there and it’s a concept that Jacoby is comfortable with, they put Drake in there,” Breer said. “That’s where the 30 percent number comes from.

“They’re giving him time to decide with TC McCartney, the quarterbacks coach. They’re doing what they can to try to get him ready to play. My expectation is that he will play this year.”

Breer further elaborated on his reporting about Maye’s progression during his column published on Sports Illustrated on Monday. 

“My understanding is that the plan is for that to happen at some point in 2024 — this won’t be a full-on redshirt year,” Breer wrote. “They’ll be patient. But Maye’s progress has gotten to the point where the expectation is he’ll earn his way on to the field relatively soon, with the one caveat being that the Patriots’ offense will have to show (as it did against the Cincinnati Bengals, then didn’t against the Jets) that it can play the way it needs to in order to support a rookie quarterback.”

Even if Maye has made significant strides since the start of training camp, New England will need to significantly tighten things up at the line of scrimmage if the Patriots plan on giving him an opportunity to showcase his stuff at some point later this season.