Drake Maye Limited in Practice, But Patriots Stay the Course Ahead of Super Bowl LX
With Super Bowl LX just around the corner, all eyes are on the New England Patriots - and especially on rookie quarterback Drake Maye, who showed up on the team’s estimated injury report as limited with a right shoulder issue. Naturally, any mention of a quarterback’s throwing shoulder this close to the biggest game of the season raises eyebrows. But inside the Patriots’ facility, there’s no panic - at least not publicly.
Head coach Mike Vrabel addressed the situation Thursday and made it clear he’s not losing sleep over Maye’s status.
“I try not to have a whole lot of concern,” Vrabel told reporters. “I just want to try to prepare the football team, make sure that everybody’s ready, that we all have a plan, not to surprise anybody and make sure that our guys are focusing on the first- and second-down plan.”
That’s classic Vrabel - focused on the details, sticking to the process, and keeping the bigger picture in mind. While Maye’s shoulder is certainly something the team is monitoring, Vrabel emphasized that it won’t change how they approach practice this week.
“I think we’re going to operate as we normally would here on a Wednesday,” Vrabel said, noting that even though it was Thursday on the calendar, the team was treating it like a Wednesday in terms of their game-week schedule. “That’s kind of how we’ll approach it.”
Translation: business as usual.
And that’s significant. For a rookie quarterback about to step onto the biggest stage in football, continuity in preparation is key.
Maye’s development throughout the season has been one of the more compelling storylines in New England - steady, poised, and increasingly confident in commanding the offense. So even if he's not taking every rep in practice, the Patriots clearly believe he's mentally locked in and physically close enough to full strength to continue prepping like he’s going to start.
The team will release two more injury reports before they head west to the Bay Area for the final game of the 2025 season. Until then, the Patriots are sticking to their script - focus on the plan, keep the noise out, and trust the process that got them here.
For now, it looks like Drake Maye is still on track to lead New England into Super Bowl LX. But as always in the NFL, especially in late January, every practice rep and every injury report matters just a little more.