Drake Maye’s Super Bowl Injury Sparks Debate, But Did the Patriots Really Cross a Line?
Drake Maye’s Super Bowl performance is under the microscope - not just for what he did on the field, but for what might’ve been going on behind the scenes. The New England Patriots' rookie quarterback played through a shoulder injury that had reportedly been bothering him for nearly two weeks leading up to the big game. Now, questions are swirling about just how transparent the team was about his condition.
FOX Sports analyst Nick Wright didn’t hold back this week, suggesting the Patriots may have crossed a line by not fully disclosing the severity of Maye’s injury. Appearing on First Things First, Wright argued that the NFL should consider punishment for what he called a breach of the league’s injury reporting rules, claiming it compromised the integrity of the game.
“This is the quarterback of a Super Bowl team,” Wright said. “The team fudged information on the final injury report leading into the Super Bowl.”
That’s a serious accusation - one that implies the Patriots knowingly downplayed their quarterback’s health to gain a competitive edge. But as the dust settles, fans and analysts alike are pushing back on the idea that New England did anything outside the lines.
Here’s the key detail: Maye was listed on the final injury report with a right shoulder injury, but he was also marked as a full participant in practice all week. Under NFL rules, that’s all that’s required.
If a player is practicing fully and not at risk of missing the game, there’s no obligation to add a game status designation. And in Maye’s case, he was always expected to play.
One fan summed it up bluntly: “The final injury report was correct. He had a right shoulder injury.
It was listed. He was a full participant in practice.
That was also listed. He was 100% always going to play that game.
Nothing was fudged.”
Another added a dose of perspective: “It’s the NFL, so I’d wager more than half of the guys on that field were playing injured (not hurt).”
And that’s the reality of football at this level - especially on the Super Bowl stage. Players are often dealing with something, and unless it’s going to keep them off the field or limit their participation in practice, it doesn’t trigger additional reporting requirements.
As for Maye’s performance, it was a tough outing, no doubt. He completed 27 of 43 passes for 295 yards and two touchdowns, but also threw two interceptions and lost a fumble.
He was under siege from the start - sacked six times and hurried countless more. His offensive line struggled to hold up, and the run game was virtually non-existent, managing fewer than 45 yards on 13 carries.
So was the shoulder injury a factor? Possibly.
But it’s hard to separate that from the broader context of a young quarterback facing relentless pressure in the biggest game of his life. Maye didn’t look like himself at times, but he also didn’t get much help.
At the end of the day, unless new information emerges, the Patriots appear to have followed the letter of the law when it comes to injury reporting. Whether they should have done more is a different conversation - one that touches on the gray area between gamesmanship and games ethics. But in terms of league rules, it looks like New England played it straight.
The bigger takeaway? Maye showed a lot of grit suiting up and battling through adversity on football’s biggest stage. And if this is what he looks like at less than 100%, the future still looks bright in Foxborough.