Drake Maye Injury: Something Clearly Going On With Patriots QB

There’s no reason to believe Drake Maye won’t be able to play in Super Bowl LX on Feb. 8. However, there’s increasing reason to believe the Patriots quarterback is dealing with something ahead of New England’s matchup with the Seattle Seahawks.

This story came out of nowhere on Monday evening but gained legs overnight and into Tuesday morning. Let’s take a look at everything we know so far.

It all started late Monday when Dr. David J. Chao, a former Los Angeles Chargers team doctor who has since transitioned to a controversial sports media career, claimed Maye injured his right shoulder during the AFC Championship Game win over the Denver Broncos.

“Drake Maye injured his right throwing shoulder against the Broncos,” Chao wrote on X with an accompanying video that did little to substantiate his claim. “How severe the injury is, and the exact diagnosis, remains to be determined. Heading into Super Bowl LX, I’m far more concerned about Maye’s shoulder than Sam Darnold’s oblique.

At that point, it was easy to write off Chao’s claim as nonsense. And perhaps it still is, but subsequent reporting, plus comments from Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel, have fueled concerns about Maye’s health.

First, at 8:24 p.m. ET on Monday, Greg Bedard of the Boston Sports Journal provided a sourced update on Maye.

“The information that I have at this moment is that any Maye ‘injury’ to his throwing shoulder is not believed to be an issue,” Bedard wrote on X.

Obviously, that’s different than saying Maye doesn’t have an injured throwing shoulder.

Roughly 30 minutes later, ESPN’s Mike Reiss, one of the most well-connected reporters covering the Patriots, wrote these three interesting paragraphs:

“Maye’s physical condition also could be a factor. As part of his regular routine, Maye planned for time with team physical therapist/athletic trainer Zach Gerber, whom the signal-caller has credited for helping him endure through the physical grind of the season. Maye was sacked five times on Sunday and took other hits. One noteworthy hit came at the end of a 13-yard run late in the third quarter; on the play, Maye slid somewhat awkwardly and was tackled by safety Talanoa Hufanga, with Maye landing on his throwing shoulder.

“Asked by ESPN to describe how he felt physically after the conference championship game, Maye acknowledged ‘some bumps and bruises’ before adding, ‘But hey, that’s what it takes.’

” ‘I think a lot of those guys in that locker room are battling through things,’ he said. ‘At the same time, the best thing about it is we have another chance at it. Another chance at it to get healthy. Two weeks — a chance to go win the Super Bowl. That’s what it is, and that’s pretty cool.’ “

Again, that sure sounds like Maye is dealing with some sort of shoulder injury, albeit potentially minor.

That brings us to Tuesday morning, when Vrabel, appearing on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show“, was asked about the injury rumors and whether Maye is 100% healthy ahead of the Super Bowl.

“There’s not a player on our team that’s 100% healthy,” Vrabel said.

Vrabel then was asked whether Maye is healthy enough to play at a high level.

“I would imagine we will go through the injury report, and whenever we have to turn that in, we’ll turn it in,” Vrabel said. “But nobody is 100%. This will be our 21st game.”

You can draw your own conclusions, but the tea leaves point in an obvious direction. Again, there’s no reason to question Maye’s availability for Super Bowl LX, but there’s at least some reason to believe his shoulder is bothering him.

All eyes will be on Thursday’s practice and ensuing injury report, which will offer more clarity on Maye’s condition.