The Patriots ate the words of one of their own on Saturday.
Evan Lazar, who co-hosts a podcast produced by the Patriots, “Catch 22,” suggested the team was on the brink of a breakdown earlier this week.
“Right now they’re teetering on a mutiny in that locker room,” Lazar said on the podcast. “And I don’t want to be alarmist or like . . . hyperbolic . . . I don’t. But I was in that locker room after the game on Sunday. The defense was mad at the defense. The offense was mad at the offense. You’ve got young receivers who are literally throwing tantrums on film. . . . I said this before and I’ll say it again.
“You’re at the point now with 52 other guys in that locker room that all watch these two quarterbacks practice every single day, that all know that they drafted Drake Maye third overall. And at what point in time do some of these guys say to themselves, ‘Why am I going out there and getting my butt kicked every single Sunday and Drake can’t? . . . Why am I going out there with a quarterback who can’t get me the football when we have the Ferrari back in the garage that can get me the football?”
Thus, the Patriots took down the initial version of the podcast episode, deleting the video clip from X and YouTube. They have also edited the audio to remove the “mutiny” comment.
Near hours later, Lazar also took back his words in an appearance on 98.5 The Sports Hub, which is the Patriots’ radio flagship.
Lazar was asked if would like to “rephrase” his comments by host Joe Murray.
“I’ll fully admit I got a little carried away today on the podcast,” Lazar said. “The word I used — ‘mutiny’ — like, there’s no mutiny in the Patriots’ locker room. And, like I said, I got carried away, and that was my bad. You know, that’s not what was going on.
“But I just think the biggest thing that I worry about — and this is just me personally, my opinion — is how long the rest of the players in the locker room are gonna sit there and take their lumps while Drake Maye waits in the wings, and waits for his turn. So, that was just my opinion, and it came out a little stronger than I intended it to.”
Maye, who the Patriots drafted No. 3 overall in 2024, has only taken his 16 snaps in mop-up duty against the Jets and has watched nine-year veteran Jacoby Brissett from the bench for the majority of his rookie year.
“My focus is definitely on the Dolphins, one hundred percent, and the guys in the locker room,” Mayo told reporters on Friday when asked about Lazar’s “mutiny” comments. “So I haven’t heard that. I mean, that’s journalism for you. I’m not sure.”
Brissett did lead the Patriots to a big 16-10 upset over the Bengals in Week 1, but since the Patriots have gone 0-3 and Brissett has only managed to throw two touchdowns in four weeks.
However, it seems the Patriots plan is still to ease Maye into the starting role rather than rushing in.
In those 16 snaps, Maye completed four of eight attempts for 22 yards and zero interceptions, and he was sacked twice.