SANTA CLARA, Calif. \u2014 The machine sits in the front corner of the Patriots\u2019 quarterbacks room.<\/p>\n
It cost $10,000, one coach guessed.<\/p>\n
It has healing powers, one teammate claimed.<\/p>\n
Everyone who has made a pilgrimage to use this square box with a clear plastic exterior, small tub on top and mechanical arms and pumps inside, comes away a true believer.<\/p>\n
That is, if you\u2019ve even heard about it: the secret weapon fueling Drake Maye\u2019s MVP-caliber season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t know (about) that,\u201d Jaylinn Hawkins said this week.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, I haven\u2019t heard about it,\u201d Craig Woodson added. \u201cWhat is it?\u201d<\/p>\n
After three months, the machine remains enough of a secret because, the quarterbacks figure, every Patriots player and coach would flock to have a turn.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a well-kept secret. I hadn\u2019t heard about it for a while,\u201d Patriots left guard Ben Brown said. \u201cAnd then I heard someone mention it at breakfast one morning, so I had to try it. And it was phenomenal. Delicious.\u201d<\/p>\n
Delicious? Allow Ashton Grant, the Patriots quarterbacks coach, to explain.<\/p>\n
\u201cDrake bought this very expensive orange juice machine for the room,\u201d Grant said. \u201cIt\u2019s a fresh-squeeze juicer, and now it\u2019s like the most popular juice machine in the building.\u201d<\/p>\n
Maybe the most popular machine, period. So popular the Patriots contemplated flying it out for Super Bowl week.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the best thing that\u2019s ever been brought into a locker room that I\u2019ve been around,\u201d Patriots backup quarterback Tommy DeVito said. \u201cAnywhere I go, I will be requesting an orange juice machine, probably from a rookie or a nutritionist or somebody, because it\u2019s just awesome. It\u2019s like a vibe center.\u201d<\/p>\n
Head sports dietician Ted Harper installed the machine in early November at Maye\u2019s behest. A day earlier, Maye asked DeVito if he liked orange juice. DeVito said yes, and asked Maye why he wanted to know.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ll see,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"New](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26034067503393.jpg\")
New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye laughs during the NFL Super Bowl Opening Night, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. ahead of the Super Bowl 60 football game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. (AP Photo\/Brynn Anderson)<\/p>\n
Then, it arrived. And the juice hasn\u2019t stopped flowing since.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve heard it\u2019s the best orange juice anybody\u2019s ever had,\u201d Pats linebacker Jack Gibbens said.<\/p>\n
Maye ordered the machine for a simple reason, according to his starting center and friend, Garrett Bradbury.<\/p>\n
\u201cDrake doesn\u2019t drink coffee, he doesn\u2019t drink energy drinks,\u201d Bradbury said. \u201cHe likes orange juice.\u201d<\/p>\n
Easy enough.<\/p>\n
Except the reason behind the machine\u2019s ongoing use and growing popularity has since multiplied. As the Patriots played deeper into flu season, offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said coaches and players were inundated with reminders to ward off illness by hydrating and upping their vitamin C intake. So select tight ends, offensive linemen and even defensive assistants began ducking into the quarterbacks room whenever they could for a cold glass.<\/p>\n
DeVito was happy to see them swing by, mostly for the camaraderie, but also because he knows the cost of an ill-timed illness. He\u2019s gotten sick every year of his NFL career, regardless of whether he was a starter or backup. But not this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been drinking that damn orange juice every day,\u201d DeVito said. \u201cAnd I\u2019ve been good.\u201d<\/p>\n
To enjoy the OJ, visitors hit a button on the machine to select how many oranges they first want dispensed down from the tub and into the machine. Oranges are then sliced and squeezed simultaneously, as juice squirts out at the bottom after a few moments. Harper stocks the machine with extra boxes of oranges he\u2019s had to order to keep up with demand.<\/p>\n
After Maye had the machine installed in early November, word about the juice\u2019s legendary taste spread fastest within the coaching staff. Outside linebackers coach Mike Smith was the assistant who said it cost around $10,000, and shared Monday the taste is worth every penny.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m thinking, is it that good? And it is. It\u2019s remarkable. It\u2019s just flat-out unbelievable,\u201d Smith said. \u201cBest orange juice I\u2019ve ever had in my life. I feel bad going in there because you always have to have fresh oranges, and I feel like a lot of people are taking advantage of it. So, I only used it once.\u201d<\/p>\n
Backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs sits near the machine almost every day, yet he\u2019s never tried it. In fact, Dobbs would prefer never to hear about it again.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, don\u2019t get me started with that orange juice machine,\u201d Dobbs said. \u201cI\u2019m not an orange juice (person). I\u2019ve never had orange juice before, so I haven\u2019t tried it. Everyone comes in like, \u2018Oh, it\u2019s the world\u2019s greatest orange juice, and everything.\u2019 Everyone loves it. OK.\u201d<\/p>\n
DeMario Douglas keeps his distance, too. Douglas said he\u2019s a loyal Sunny D customer to the sweet and sugary end. But even he can admit this OJ has captivated teammates and staffers like he wouldn\u2019t believe.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey say if you\u2019re feeling sick, go get that orange juice,\u201d Douglas said, \u201cand you\u2019re gonna bounce back.\u201d<\/p>\n
Last week, Maye was listed on the injury report with a new illness that kept him out of practice on Friday. Two days later, he flew to the Bay Area without issue, and threw his regular number of passes at practice Monday.<\/p>\n
His offensive linemen, including Bradbury, use the machine most often after the quarterbacks. Bradbury\u2019s health has been an on-again, off-again issue while he\u2019s fought sickness over the last several weeks.<\/p>\n
But in retrospect, the 30-year-old half-jokingly identified why he went under the weather, and why he\u2019s out of the clear now.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I found out about the machine, I certainly had (OJ) every day. Then I kind of fell off of it a little bit,\u201d Bradbury said. \u201cAnd then once I got sick, I was like, \u2018I need to get back to the orange juice.\u2019 And I certainly did.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n
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