The New England Patriots' best player didn't practice Friday, and the illness news is compounded by his shoulder injury ahead of Super Bowl LX.
Is it time to hit the alarm button on New England Patriots’ quarterback Drake Maye? There are still nine days to go until Super Bowl LX, where the Patriots will take on the Seattle Seahawks. However, Maye missed practice on Friday due to an illness, according to head coach Mike Vrabel. Maye is also nursing a right shoulder injury sustained in the AFC Championship win. Vrabel said that several players are dealing with illnesses over the last few weeks, and he is just trying to do what’s best for the team and not continue the spread. But it certainly adds to the unease around New England’s best player who was already limited in practice Thursday due to hurting his throwing shoulder.
Maye threw for 533 yards and four touchdowns with six fumbles and two interceptions throughout the Patriots’ postseason run so far. That was all when Maye was 100 percent – and he won’t be for the biggest game. But Vrabel isn’t too worried about that, despite Friday marking the first time Maye missed practice all season. He did go to the facility and was involved in meetings.
Here is the full story from Patriots Roundtable writer Ashish Mathur on the less-than-optimal update out of New England.
Maye spoke to reporters and is “looking forward to being ready to go,” and doesn’t think his injury will limit his throwing ability. In his place, veteran Josh Dobbs handled starting duties on Friday, alongside Tommy Devito. The team is off Saturday before they are scheduled to travel to California on Sunday, where they will hold four practices ahead of the Super Bowl. They certainly hope to have Maye as close to 100 percent as feasible as those preparations ramp up.