Update 1/27/2026: Rumored Drake Maye injury blown out of proportion, says Mike Vrabel
After not directly addressing his quarterback’s injury status on Tuesday morning, Mike Vrabel had a chance to clarify his comments during a press conference at Gillette Stadium later that day. He did remain somewhat vague, but did acknowledge that the story about Drake Maye’s injured shoulder was “probably” blown out of proportion.
“I think that everybody, including Drake, is not 100% at this part of the year. We’ll do everything that we can to help our players be prepared and get ready for this game,” Vrabel said.
When asked in a follow-up whether or not Maye did hurt his shoulder, the Patriots’ first-year head coach claimed that he “wouldn’t say that anybody hurt anything.”
“Again, this is a sport where there’s going to be things that come up, but I don’t think that there’s a — we’ll talk about whatever status each player has for the game once we’re required to. We understand that. But we were able to function offensively, throw the football, run the football. So, that’s kind of where everybody’s at.”
Original story 1/27/2026: Mike Vrabel sidesteps Drake Maye injury questions ahead of Super Bowl
At first glance, the New England Patriots appeared to have escaped the AFC Championship Game against the Denver Broncos without any major injury issues. However, on Monday, speculation started to make the rounds online about quarterback Drake Maye potentially having injured his right throwing shoulder on a scramble play in the third quarter.
Maye himself did not show any limitations after the play, but did acknowledge some “bumps and bruises” during his press conference after the 10-7 victory spoke. Are they a valid reason for concern, though? That remains to be seen, especially with Mike Vrabel opting not to directly address the rumors on Monday morning.
Appearing on WEEI’s The Greg Hill Show, the Patriots’ head coach channeled his inner Bill Belichick when asked about Maye’s supposed shoulder ailment:
Q: Is he a 100% healthy today as you guys get ready?
Vrabel: There’s not a player on our team that’s 100% healthy.
Q: Is he healthy enough to play at a high level?
Vrabel: I would imagine we will go through the injury report, and whenever we have to turn that in, we’ll turn it in. But nobody is 100%. This will be our 21st game.
Maye finished the game without missing any time, and did not look particularly bothered by his shoulder or any other injuries during and after the contest. He completed his longest pass of the day, a 31-yarder to Mack Hollins, two plays after the scramble in question and was quick to pop up again following a sack in the fourth quarter that saw him land on that very same right shoulder.
As Vrabel noted, though, his team will share all the necessary information as part of its injury report. The first of those leading up to Super Bowl LX against the Seattle Seahawks will be released next Wednesday.
Before flying to California, the Patriots are scheduled to hit the practice fields on Thursday and Friday this week.