Source: The Patriots promote first-round rookie Drake Maye to starting QB against the Texans

The Drake Maye era is here.

The New England Patriots plan to use Maye at quarterback on Sunday against the Houston Texans. Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports confirmed the news on Tuesday following a report from NFL Network.

Maye will take over the quarterback position for veteran Jacoby Brissett, who is off to a 1-4 start in New England’s first five games.

The Patriots selected Maye out of North Carolina with the No. 3 pick in April’s NFL draft. His position as New England’s starting quarterback was never a question of if, but rather when. Now we have that answer. Maye will make his first NFL start on Sunday.

New England entered the season with low expectations, leading to speculation that the Patriots would opt to use Maye during his rookie season to learn from their bench and avoid playing behind a shaky offensive line. Maye reportedly began New England’s training camp with a notable learning curve, but showed off arm talent and athleticism in the preseason that made him the No. 3 pick in the draft.

Head coach Jerod Mayo ultimately named Brissett the starter after the conclusion of preseason and training camp. The Patriots then caused the biggest surprise of the first week with a 16:10 victory over the Bengals in Cincinnati.

But since then, the Patriots have been in free fall. They have lost four straight games, including a 24-3 loss to the New York Jets in Week 3, and have not scored more than 13 points in three straight weeks.