FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Patriots Coach Jerod Mayo saw the progress from Drake Maye in the summer. As the rookie continued to develop this fall, the Patriots couldn’t hold back any longer.

Mayo explained his decision to replace Jacoby Brissett as the starting quarterback for Week 6 against the Texans with rookie Maye during Wednesday morning’s news conference.

“Going forward, Drake gives us the best chance to win now and going forward,” Mayo said. “He’s been getting better every single week. At the end of training camp, he was trending at a very high rate … It was solely my decision to make this choice.”

Mayo said that offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt was “fully on board” with his decision to bench Brissett for Maye. The Patriots are 1-4 and on a four-game losing streak with Brissett as their starting quarterback. Maye has appeared in just one game this season, going 4 of 8 for 22 yards with two carries for 12 yards in relief of Brissett in Week 3 against the Jets.

The decision to start Maye was not expedited, according to Mayo.

“At the end of training camp, he was trending up, and that never slowed down,” Mayo said.

The Patriots face a tenacious Texans defense at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. The Patriots are allowing the league’s highest pressure rate, and the Texans’ defense leads the NFL in pressure rate.

“There’s never a perfect time to make a change,” Mayo said. “Every defense … has the ability to rush and get after the quarterback.”

Brissett will maintain his role as a captain while serving as the team’s backup quarterback, according to Mayo.

Mayo said he was “a little bit” disappointed that news broke of Maye starting before he could inform the Patriots.

“Coach said Drake is going to be our quarterback, and we’re behind Drake,” defensive captain Deatrich Wise said Wednesday.

Brissett was averaging just 139.2 passing yards per game with a 58.5% completion rate through five starts. He threw two touchdowns with one interception and one lost fumble to start the 2024 season.

Inside the Patriots’ locker room, players went about their business. The mood was actually a little subdued. While the players understand why the quarterback switch was made, they were still feeling a bit bummed for Brissett, who took a pounding behind a porous offensive line.

Brissett didn’t complain. He just kept getting up and trying to put the team in a position to win.

“It’s bittersweet, but it’s the league, it happens. Everybody’s position is in danger,” running back Antonio Gibson said. “It’s never any comfort level … it’s a part of the league. So we know how it goes. Jacoby knows we still support him. Drake is announced as the starter now, and we have to rally behind him.”

“You could see it coming,” cornerback Jonathan Jones said of the move. “It’s not a fault to Jacoby. It’s just to see if we could get something started.”

JABRIL PEPPERS was placed on the commissioner’s exempt list after he was arrested Saturday morning and faces charges of assault and battery, assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, strangulation and possession of a class “B” substance.

Mayo said Peppers will not be in the facility in the “near term.”

Peppers may not practice or attend games while on the list. He will be paid and is allowed to attend meetings and workouts and receive treatment at Gillette Stadium while exempt, which is “a special player status available to clubs only in unusual circumstances.” The starting safety was dealing with a shoulder injury before his arrest. He was ruled out of the Patriots’ Week 5 loss on Saturday after informing the team of his arrest.

The Patriots will keep Peppers on the team while he goes through his “due process,” per Mayo. The coach feels Peppers’ placement on the commissioner’s exempt list will give the team time to gather information.

“As a father of three daughters, I definitely understand the seriousness of the allegations, and hopefully they’re not true,” Mayo said.

Police in Braintree, Massachusetts, arrived at a residential address around 4:15 a.m. Saturday after receiving a disturbance call that described an altercation between two people. Following an investigation, Peppers was arrested, and police say “the victim was treated by E.M.S. at the scene.” The substance in question was discovered in Peppers’ wallet and believed to be cocaine, according to authorities.

Peppers pleaded not guilty during his arraignment at Quincy District Court on Monday morning. He was ordered to stay away from the alleged female victim, who said Peppers “hit her, choked her, took off her clothing and put her outside,” according to the police report. She also claimed Peppers grabbed her by the neck and smashed her head against the wall before allegedly throwing her down the stairs of his apartment.

Peppers claimed he asked the woman to leave several times and denied putting his hands on her. He said she fell down the stairs by herself because she was “intoxicated.” He told police the woman made these allegations to destroy his career.

PRACTICE REPORT: Running back Rhamondre Stevenson was among four players absent at practice, the team’s first ahead of this weekend’s showdown with Houston.

Stevenson and safety Kyle Dugger were missing from the active roster, and tight end Jack Westover was the lone player absent on the practice squad.

Stevenson suffered what he described as a calf injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s loss to Miami, a game Dugger missed with a hurt ankle. Stevenson returned to the field after missing a few plays and didn’t expect to miss any game action moving forward.