A Wednesday injury report estimated that New England Patriots starting quarterback Drake Maye would have been a limited practice participant due to a right (throwing) shoulder problem.
Maye may or may not have picked it up during the club’s AFC Championship Game win over the Denver Broncos on Jan. 25. While speaking with reporters on Thursday, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel revealed how concerned he is about the health of his QB1.
Mike Vrabel not losing sleep over supposed Drake Maye shoulder injury
“Not much,” Vrabel said, per Keagan Stiefel of NESN. “I try not to have a whole lot of concern. I just want to prepare the football team and make sure that we’re ready and that we have a plan. I don’t want to surprise anybody.”
Individuals who went back and watched replays from the AFC title game noticed that Maye landed on his shoulder following a run in the third quarter. While he initially acknowledged that he was dealing with “some bumps and bruises” following that victory, he later said he thought the soreness was related to “the build-up of throwing almost, including training camp, 30 weeks straight.”
Business as usual for Patriots, Drake Maye?
Throughout the week, DraftKings Sportsbook has listed the Seattle Seahawks as 4.5-point favorites over the Patriots for the Super Bowl LX matchup that will take place at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara on Feb. 8. The line remaining the same indicates certain league insiders aren’t overly moved by Maye’s status.
“I think we’re going to operate as we normally would here on a Wednesday,” Vrabel added about the Patriots’ schedule that has been altered due to travel.
Vrabel also praised how Maye has improved from when the Patriots fell to 1-2 back on Sept. 21 to where the team is in the final days of January.
“I think it’s grown,” Vrabel said about Maye’s development, per Christopher Price of The Boston Globe. “I think just as we’ve gone through this entire year in this program, and the more that he’s been out there and the games have kind of built up on us, really, we’ve done a nice job in those situations. I think he’s improved in them. He’s a big part of why we’re here, obviously.”