Drake Maye clears concussion protocol ahead of Patriots’ game against Titans
Maye was in the league's concussion protocol all week and was limited in practice.
The Patriots will have their starting quarterback when they take on the Titans.
Drake Maye has cleared the NFL’s concussion protocol and been removed from the injury report for Sunday’s game, the Patriots announced Saturday. Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo previously said that if Maye had been cleared before Sunday’s game, the expectation was that he would start against the Titans.
“Once he gets out of the protocol, I think we feel he’s been cleared by the medical professionals. He’ll be ready to go,” Mayo told reporters Friday when asked if Maye would be able to play if he wasn’t cleared until minutes before Sunday’s game.
Maye entered the league’s concussion protocol during Sunday’s win over the Jets. He was on the wrong end of a helmet-to-helmet hit from Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood when he took off for an 18-yard run late in the first quarter. Maye remained in the game for a few more plays, then he was removed before the team’s next possession.
Maye showed he was quickly progressing through the league’s concussion protocol during the week. He appeared to be in Phase 3 of the protocol on Wednesday before improving to Phase 4 on Thursday. Phase 5 is the final phase of the protocol and allows players to return to normal football activities. Maye was limited in practice all week.
Even though Jacoby Brissett led the Patriots to a comeback win over the Jets, their offense has been markedly better in the two-plus games Maye has started. The rookie has thrown for 542 yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions over three starts. He’s also rushed for 112 yards over those games, including a 17-yard touchdown run against the Jets last week.
Now, Maye will get the opportunity to go against a Titans defense that’s allowed the fewest passing yards per game in the league this season. Mayo challenged whoever would be at quarterback to make plays in Sunday’s game, regardless of who will start.
“We’re going to have to do a good job tying in the protection, the route concepts, and the quarterback play to neutralize that,” Mayo said. “In saying that, no matter who the quarterback is, I think we just can’t sit back in the pocket. I think we need to move around. You have to change the launch point, whether that’s through boots or through dropback pass, 90s, all those things will definitely help us.”
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