Drake Maye, the Patriots’ signal-caller, just hit the injury report for the first time this season with a right shoulder issue, but get this: even with one touchdown and six interceptions already on his record, Maye is saying his shoulder isn’t the reason for the team’s struggles. That’s a bold take when those stats are staring you down.
Maye Points to Turnovers, Not His Aching Shoulder
“No, it hasn’t,” Maye flat-out told the team, according to their transcript, when asked if the shoulder was a factor. He claims it doesn’t mess with his decision-making, which he says is what “makes and breaks play for quarterbacks.” He’s not wrong about decision-making being critical, but man, six picks versus one touchdown? That’s a rough ratio, injured shoulder or not. Maye thinks they’re not struggling to move the ball, but they’re “turning the football over, doing things that are preventing us from scoring touchdowns.” He’s pinning it on turnovers and historical “good football when we don’t turn the football over.” You gotta wonder, is the shoulder truly not impacting those decisions, or is he just trying to tough it out mentally? He says he “felt good out there today” at practice, which is good, but the stats are still staring everyone down. This team needs him to be sharp, and the turnover problem is real.
Injuries Piling Up Across the Roster
It’s not just Maye dealing with bumps and bruises either. Their defense is looking pretty banged up right now. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez didn’t even practice Wednesday because of his own shoulder injury. The dude has been putting in work with eight tackles and five passes defensed in just three games, so that’s a big loss if he’s out. Defensive tackle Christian Barmore also sat out practice with a shoulder issue, and offensive tackle Morgan Moses was out with a foot problem. That’s three key players not hitting the field.
Then you got a whole list of guys who were limited: linebacker Christian Elliss with a chest problem, fullback Reggie Gilliam battling a knee, linebacker Dre’Mont Jones with a shoulder, tight end Eli Raridon nursing a thigh, and safeties Brenden Schooler (back) and Craig Woodson (shoulder). Schooler is working his way back from the non-football injury list, but he’s not eligible to play this week. That’s a lot of significant pieces either out or not fully cleared. You can’t perform your best when you’re limping into practice with that many guys hurting.
With Maye claiming his shoulder is fine and pointing to turnovers as the real issue, it’s all eyes on practice this week to see if they can clean things up. But for a team already dealing with so many injuries, getting healthy and holding onto the ball has to be the absolute top priority. Every single player needs to step up, because the list of injured players is just too long right now to ignore.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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