A rough start for Drake Maye has only fueled the noise around the New England Patriots, and now a new report has added another layer of concern.
Maye’s 2026 season has opened in ugly fashion. Through three regular-season games, he leads the entire league with seven costly total turnovers, and the numbers around him are just as rough.
He has completed 51 of 80 passes for 585 yards, with an average of 7.3 yards per downfield throw. The stat line also includes six interceptions, only one touchdown pass and a 58.6 passer rating.
He has been sacked nine times in this short stretch, and he has looked uncomfortable holding the ball too long.
The frustration showed up visibly enough that Maye appeared to be crying on the sidelines with Mike Vrabel.
That on-field strain now appears to be spilling into the building. During a recent broadcast of The Greg Hill Show on WEEI, Greg Hill and former player Jermaine Wiggins said they had heard from a team source about a serious internal rift. Their source said there is active tension between Vrabel and Maye, and that it traces back to the idea that Maye was never Vrabel’s preferred quarterback.
Wiggins put it this way: “Mike Vrabel is a ‘his guy’ kinda coach.”
Hill drew the same conclusion, saying, “Despite what Mike Vrabel has said publicly, it goes back to Drake Maye not being his guy,” Hill said. “Mike Vrabel is a ‘his guy’ kind of coach. Since he’s got here, he’s gone out and got all of his guys.”
For a team already stuck in a bad spot, the situation around its young quarterback is getting harder to ignore. Without better play from Maye, the Patriots are staring at nowhere to go.
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Drake Maye And Mike Vrabel Rumors Add New Concern For Patriots
A shaky start to the 2026 season has already put Drake Maye under an uncomfortable spotlight, with the Patriots quarterback battling multiple turnovers and uneven performance. For a team still trying to settle its long-term direction, that alone would be enough to fuel plenty of conversation around New England, especially with the offense searching for steadier footing early.
Now the discussion has widened beyond the field. A broadcast on The Greg Hill Show added another layer of concern by relaying rumors of tension between Maye and head coach Mike Vrabel, including the suggestion that Vrabel never fully backed Maye as the franchise quarterback. The reporting is coming from unnamed team sources and commentary rather than official confirmation, but even as rumor it gives the Patriots another unresolved issue to manage while the season is still taking shape. [Read more 🡒]
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For the Patriots, the debate is less about one harsh critique than about how quickly the conversation around Maye can shift from patience to scrutiny. Newton has raised the bar before when he talks about New England, and his latest comments fit that pattern, especially with a young quarterback still trying to find his footing in a less-than-ideal setup. The broader question hanging over the situation is whether the early issues are just part of the learning curve or the start of a more uncomfortable conversation about where this offense is headed. [Read more 🡒]