Drake Maye’s name is back in the middle of the storm in New England, and this time it’s not just about the Patriots’ ugly start. The quarterback is suddenly dealing with a fresh wave of questions after the team listed him on Wednesday’s injury report with a shoulder issue, even though both Maye and Mike Vrabel had already downplayed any problem earlier in the day.
That wrinkle lands on top of a rough opening three weeks for the Patriots, who were supposed to absorb a few bumps in 2026 but instead have stumbled into a mess with no easy fix. Maye has been at the center of it all. Through three games, he’s thrown six interceptions and lost a fumble, a brutal run for a player many expected to make a Year 3 leap after leading the Patriots to the Super Bowl.
The noise around Foxboro has only grown louder as the losses pile up. Some have even started talking about a possible rift between Maye and his head coach, while others have pointed to the shoulder injury he suffered against the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game as the explanation for both his Super Bowl performance and his shaky start this season.
Maye has kept insisting the shoulder isn’t bothering him. He said as much during his media availability on Wednesday, and Vrabel said he wasn’t aware of any issue.
Then, a few hours later, the Patriots put Maye on the injury report for the first time this season. He was a full participant in practice, but the timing made the move hard to ignore.
Based on what’s showing up on tape, there doesn’t appear to be an obvious throwing-arm limitation behind his struggles. Maye is still hitting some high-level downfield throws, the kind that would be tough to pull off if he were dealing with pain.
The cleaner explanations seem to be confidence, shaky protection and receivers not creating enough separation. Last week, he was pressured on 56% of his dropbacks, which says plenty about the state of the offense around him.
Still, once a player lands on the injury report, the conversation changes. If the shoulder weren’t a real concern, he probably wouldn’t be there. That’s why this story isn’t going away anytime soon, especially with the Patriots already drowning in problems.
It also leaves Maye with a chance to change the conversation in a hurry. New England faces the Bills on Sunday, and he has already shown he can deliver in Buffalo.
Last year, he did it when the Patriots visited in Week 5. Another strong outing would quiet plenty of the chatter, at least for a while.
Until then, the questions are only going to keep coming. And on Sunday afternoon, Maye has the chance to answer them.
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