SAN JOSE, Calif. — If it were late September or mid-November, or practically any other week, New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye’s shoulder might not be such a big deal.
But this is Super Bowl week, and any small bit of news becomes a big deal. Especially when it’s an injury issue surrounding an NFL MVP finalist at quarterback.
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Maye hurt his shoulder in the third quarter of the AFC championship game, when he scrambled and was tackled by Denver Broncos safety Talanoa Hufanga. Maye seemed to wince and briefly reach for his shoulder. That has turned into the Zapruder film of Super Bowl week.
Maye was asked about his shoulder, among a number of off-the-wall topics, on Monday at Super Bowl LX Opening Night, when both teams met the media to unofficially kick off the week in the Bay Area. He said his shoulder started “turning a corner” on the team flight to California on Sunday, he threw on Monday, and he is doing well.
“Feeling great. Yeah, feeling good,” Maye said. “I look forward to getting back out there the next few days.”
The Patriots being tight-lipped about what’s going on with Maye’s injury has added to the mystery — and allowed the story to become bigger than it probably should have. For his part, Maye insisted there are no issues.
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“I’m feeling good,” he said. “I’ll be just fine.”
Drake Maye of the New England Patriots meets the media during Super Bowl LX Opening Night. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
(Chris Graythen via Getty Images)
Patriots hadn’t said much about Drake Maye injury
Nobody has indicated that Maye is in the slightest danger of missing the Super Bowl. He was listed as questionable on the initial injury report for Super Bowl LX, with an illness as well as the shoulder injury.
On Monday, Maye expressed no concerns. He didn’t throw at any of the portions of practice that were open to the media last week, but he said his throwing on Monday went well.
“I threw a good bit,” he said. “I threw as much as I would in a practice and felt great. I’m looking forward to getting back out there on Wednesday and Thursday for practice again.”
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That’s as much information as has been shared about Maye’s injury. Last week was a reminder that Patriots coach Mike Vrabel played for Bill Belichick — because he dodged any discussion of Maye’s injury last week. When asked about his level of concern over Maye’s shoulder, he said: “Not much.”
“No, I wouldn’t say that anybody hurt anything,” Vrabel said last week. “Everybody, including Drake, is not 100 percent.”
Maye, who is likely to finish second in the MVP voting behind Matthew Stafford when awards are announced at the annual NFL Honors show on Thursday, will almost definitely play Sunday. The question becomes whether he is affected at all, even if he indicated his shoulder won’t be an issue.
Maye has had an excellent season, throwing for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns while leading the NFL with a 72% completion percentage and 8.9 yards per attempt. A shoulder injury might not only affect Maye’s arm strength when he passes the ball, but it could also cause him to be more conservative when it comes to running the ball. He had 450 rushing yards in the regular season, and his 65 yards rushing against the Broncos were a big factor in New England’s AFC championship game win.
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If Maye is affected, we probably won’t find that out until Sunday. It’s not like the Patriots are going to share much about it. And Maye made it sound like it wouldn’t be a big deal.
“I really had no doubt about being 100 percent for the game,” he said. “This is the Super Bowl, and you’ve got two weeks to prepare for it, do whatever you’ve got to do to get it right, and I’ve got confidence and feel good.”
Maye gets his turn in the spotlight
Opening Night for Super Bowl week is light on serious discussion about injury reports or Xs and Os and heavy on silliness. For at least a half-hour before Maye came to the podium, comedian Guillermo Rodriguez from “Jimmy Kimmel Live” was camped out in the front row. Rodriguez asked the first questions, playing off a Kimmel bit about Matt Damon.
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“He’s the man,” Maye said. “Any Pats fan, I’m a fan.”
The last Patriots’ quarterback to play in a Super Bowl, Tom Brady, was famously asked by a reporter from TV Azteca who was in a wedding dress if he’d marry her at one Opening Night.
There was no wedding proposal for Maye, but he was asked about everything from the favorite cookies his wife makes (the answer was cinnamon snickerdoodles) to helping fantasy football teams next season (“Do I consider myself a QB1 in fantasy? I think I’ve got to say yes,” he said) to his superstitions. He said he puts on his left sock first, but his right shoe first, stands in the same spot for the National Anthem and eats a peanut butter and jelly sandwich before each game — unless it’s a night game. Then he goes for grilled cheese.
“I’ve got a lot of things,” Maye realized.
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Maye will be the second-youngest quarterback to start a Super Bowl, and the extent of his breakout was one of the big stories of the NFL season. Because he ascended to being one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks so quickly, he’s still a bit of an unknown in terms of his personality. So was Brady for his first Super Bowl. By his 10th appearance, he was internationally famous.
Maye probably won’t be reaching Super Bowls in 20 years like Brady did over his NFL career, but he seems likely to be a face of the NFL for years to come. He happily played along with all of the wacky questions Monday and seemed to be genuinely enjoying his first huge moment in the NFL and all that comes with it.
“What a journey,” he said. “I hope to play in this league a long time, but I don’t take it for granted.”
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