Now that Drake Maye has started his first game, Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo is more open to discussing the rookie’s development plan that has been referenced throughout the summer and fall.

Mayo was asked on WEEI if Maye sitting to start the season was based on the “offense’s ineptitude or was it more based on what he had learned in the first six weeks?”

“It was more based on seeing what we had up front with the offensive line,” Mayo said on “The Greg Hill Show.”

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The head coach was asked a follow-up question, asking if the Patriots had “handled the offensive line in the offseason,” there would have been a chance Maye could have started Week 1.

“You could keep going back to that, but once again, handling the offensive line, what does that mean?” Mayo asked. “If you have rookies out there, which we drafted offensive linemen, as well — and you can talk about free agent offensive linemen, which I think someone said a couple weeks ago, but who are those guys?”

Mayo was singing a different tune about the line’s impact on Maye’s plan.

The #Patriots have to get it together, man.

Jerod Mayo said the exact opposite about the team’s plan for Drake Maye on Aug. 15. Alex Van Pelt said the O-line would not affect Drake Maye’s “development plan or timeline” on Oct. 4.

Today, different story. https://t.co/a821ql7D0e pic.twitter.com/vs75Lo5lx6

— Andrew Callahan (@_AndrewCallahan) October 14, 2024

Mayo said in August that the offensive line would not be a consideration for when the Patriots would play Maye. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt said earlier this month that the instability on the offensive line would not impact Maye’s development plan.

Mayo has said multiple times now that the Patriots re-signed who they believed was the best free agent offensive lineman in Mike Onwenu. They’ve shown no interest in signing veteran offensive linemen like Donovan Smith, David Bakhtiari or Charles Leno Jr.

It seems unlikely, but perhaps that could change now that left tackle Vederian Lowe injured his ankle in Sunday’s loss to the Texans.

The Patriots’ offensive line allowed their lowest pressure rate of the season in Week 6. Offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt had said coming into the week that the felt strongly about the Patriots’ settled offensive tackle combination of Lowe and Demontrey Jacobs. That configuration is now unsettled once again.