SAN FRANCISCO — We continue our running diary of Super Bowl LX week with the Patriots’ final day of practice and the afternoon when family members start to arrive in the Bay Area.
Thursday marked the final day of media availability with Patriots players, so we didn’t need to take any early-morning shuttles down to Santa Clara or San Jose, Calif.
Patriots quarterback Drake Maye, who practiced in full and has been cleared to play in Super Bowl LX, was probably relieved not to see the media on Friday. Maye likes to give the media a hard time when we’re in the locker room on Fridays, since it’s the end of the week. Maye talked a ton this week already, answering questions for about an hour on Monday and Wednesday and holding a press conference on Thursday. And he almost certainly had other media obligations with networks this week.
The Patriots simulated the longer Super Bowl halftime during Friday’s practice. From pool reporter Lindsay Jones of The Ringer: “(Mike) Vrabel gathered his team for a long final huddle, and then smaller groups of players split off for their own huddles for final individual work. Quarterback Drake Maye, tight end Hunter Henry and receiver Efton Chism III were the final players to leave the field.”
The pool report also revealed that assistant coach 1-on-1 drills are a regular part of Friday practices.
Drake Maye of the New England Patriots addresses the media prior to Super Bowl LX at the Santa Clara Marriott on February 04, 2026 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
Friday was a good day to see what was going on in the media center and to do laps around radio row.
I recorded an episode of my podcast, “Pats Chat,” live from radio row before guesting on “Pats Interference,” the podcast of my Herald colleague, Andrew Callahan.
On “Pats Chat,” we recapped NFL Honors and gave a full Super Bowl preview. We broke down how the Patriots’ defense matches up with the Seahawks’ offense on Pats Interference.
Instead of doing three up and three down or best and worst on my podcast, my co-host, Michael Hurley, and I do booms and dooms. We borrowed that from “The Costco Guys” — AJ and Big Justice — who are popular on social media. While walking around radio row, I saw a buddy of mine interviewing AJ, so I jumped in afterward and had him record a video giving “Pats Chat” five booms. It was a fun surprise for Hurley.
The results of NFL Honors dominated conversation Thursday night and Friday.
My take on MVP: The results were closer than I thought they would be, and I personally would have given the award to Maye, who finished five points and one first-place vote away from winner, Matthew Stafford. I didn’t love seeing first-place votes for Josh Allen or Justin Herbert. I respect my former colleague at PFF, Sam Monson, for owning his vote for Herbert and being willing to explain his thought process, however.
Friday is all about finishing writing for the weekend. You’ll find a piece on Eliot Wolf’s roster-building philosophy in the paper on Saturday. Sneak peek for Sunday: I asked league sources how surprised they were about the Patriots’ sudden ascent this season and if they believe it’s a blueprint for other teams to repeat.
I also went back through a lot of my interviews from the week. Backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs was excited for families to arrive Thursday night.
“I know my favorite part (of the week) hasn’t happened yet. It will be tonight, when the family gets here, getting a chance to take in the festivities with them,” Dobbs said.
Players enjoyed getting to spend more time with their teammates this week in Santa Clara, as well.
“Just being here with the guys, enjoying it with them,” running back Rhamondre Stevenson said. “Blood, sweat and tears throughout OTAs and training camp, so it just feels good to have all these guys in the building experiencing this with us.”
Almost everyone on the Patriots’ roster has been through some sort of personal or professional hardship over the last few years. I asked starting center Garrett Bradbury how it feels to make the Super Bowl after he was cut by the Vikings last March.
Garrett Bradbury of the New England Patriots looks on after the AFC Wild Card game against the Los Angeles Chargers at Gillette Stadium. (Photo by Adam Glanzman/Getty Images)
“It’s been quite a year, but I couldn’t have dreamed of a better season to have,” Bradbury said. “It’s been awesome. Change can be kind of scary at first, but it’s been so rewarding getting to meet all these guys and play for these coaches, this team, these fans. It’s been definitely the most rewarding year my football career.”
Some Patriots fans were upset when the team released longtime center and offensive captain David Andrews, who was coming off of an injury. Bradbury has been rock solid blocking for Maye all year.
Bradbury is also will close with Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold from their season together last year with the Vikings.
“He’s an awesome friend, he’s an awesome player. Kind of similar stories, right? Both of us weren’t wanted back there, but look where we are now.”
We’ll have another diary on Sunday for the craziness of the Super Bowl. Saturday is usually a nice day to rest and recover with no media availability and radio row emptied out.