Drake Maye may be spared the needless head games that afflicted Tom Brady for two decades.

The starting quarterback is no longer an afterthought in Foxboro.

A foreign concept, indeed.

Lou Gramm sang it best: “Head games, I can’t take it anymore. Head games, I don’t want to play them.”

Bill Belichick was as Cold As Ice. That worked with Brady — two decades ago. No more.

The trade of Joe Milton to Dallas triggered a preposterous fusillade of frustration. It has been propagated that the Patriots passed on a greater return for Milton later if only they had wasted another training camp giving someone not named “Drake Maye” precious time with the starting offense.

Milton believed he was good enough to be the starter and wanted to compete for the starting job. Good for him. The Patriots disagreed.

Smokin’ Joe had to go.

Could the Patriots have gotten more for Milton in a trade later? Probably.

But any potential gain would have been erased by the lost opportunity to make Maye the undisputed QB1 from Day 1. Keeping a quarterback who believes he should start — but won’t — creates a distraction that’s a double-negative with no upside.

There’s no more time or space for unnecessary drama at One Patriots Place.

Just ask Robyn Glaser.

The spin that competition in the quarterback room will crush Maye’s spirit as if he was Mac Jones’ twin is lustful speculation and fantasy.

Maye is no Mac. He is the youngest of four hyper-competitive athletic brothers. He’s been on the receiving end of both physical and verbal thumping throughout his entire life.

(Expletive) runs downhill. The youngest always ends up at the bottom. For the first time in a generation, the Patriots are truly prioritizing the quarterback position.

Not by spending big money on legit, healthy receivers in their prime — because that would require, well, spending big money — but by creating an environment free of QB nonsense. The sort of baloney which Brady cut through for 20 years.

Brady was the 199th pick in the 2000 NFL draft. (Happy 25th anniversary next week). He was once seventh on Michigan’s depth chart. He used scorn as reverse Kryptonite.

Maye was taken third  overall. He carries no such boulder on his shoulder.

That the Patriots did not structure their entire franchise around Maye’s development once they determined he was their QB of the future in 2024 was football malfeasance. They wasted too much time last year not focusing primarily on Maye.

Mike Vrabel is not going to repeat that mistake – or the Year 2 debacle of Jones. By choice or force.

Brady’s contract history compared to his peers proves he left money on the table. Thank you, Gisele. What did that get him?

Besides the brief dual tight-end heyday of Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, top-tier pass catchers were never a priority. They ranked somewhere between the family areas at Gillette Stadium and the maybe-they-exist ashtrays on Air Kraft 1 & 2.

Randy Moss? He was pulled from the clearance rack at Marshalls.

During his time in New England, Jordon Hudson’s Sugar (Grand)daddy drafted the following 10 quarterbacks after Brady and Drew Bledsoe teamed up to quarterback the Super Bowl 36 champions.

2002 – Rohan Davey

2003 – Kliff Kingsbury

2005 – Matt Cassel

2008 – Kevin O’Connell

2010 – Zac Robinson

2011 – Ryan Mallett

2014 – Jimmy Garoppolo

2016 – Jacoby Brissett

2018 – Danny Etling

2019 – Jarrett Stidham

Six were taken in the fourth round or higher. But they combined for just 66 appearances and 19 starts with the Patriots from 2002-19.

If not for Bernard Pollard’s illegal hit on Brady in Week 1 of 2008 — and Roger Goodell’s
unconstitutional Deflategate suspension — those 10 QBs would have combined for zero starts.

As you stroke out over the return for Milton, remember just one name: Ronnie Perkins. Perkins was the player chosen by New England in 2021 with the compensatory pick it received for losing Brady to Tampa Bay.

Yes, Tom Brady was exchanged for a guy who never played in New England. That is your baseline when it comes to manufactured panic over Patriots transactions. “In my life, there’s been heartache and pain.”

Ken Dryden to the Canadiens.

Sparky Lyle to the Yankees.

Jeff Bagwell to the Astros.

Zero Snaps for TB12.

The Patriots got no more in compensation for Brady then the Red Sox did when they bungled the postage on Carlton Fisk’s contract. But Fisk never won a World Series with the White Sox.

“Zero Snaps for TB12” stinks as much as the Mookie Betts salary dump. Hey, the Red Sox beat the Rays and Yankees in the playoffs with Alex Verdugo. And Connor Wong has become a legit major-league catcher.

That’s … something.

Ronnie Perkins is now playing the UFL.

What about Jimmy G.? The sin was drafting Garoppolo, not dumping him for a second -round
pick.

“We know what Tom’s age and contract situation is,” Belichick said at the time.

That ranks with Roger Clemens being in the “twilight of his career” and Bill Parcells warning us to “not put him in Canton, yet” when referring to future Pro Football Hall of Famer Curtis Martin. No one is putting Maye in Canton. Yet.

But he deserves the chance to take the next step in his career without needless sabotage and head games.

“It’s high time to draw the line …

Put an end to this game, before it’s too late.”

Bill Speros (@RealOBF and @BillSperos on X). Contact: bsperos1@gmail.com