‘I feel good’: Drake Maye offers positive update on head injury sustained vs. Chargers
Maye exited the game in the first quarter, but returned shortly after and played the remainder of Saturday’s contest.
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It sounds like Drake Maye is fine after sustaining a head injury on Saturday.
The Patriots quarterback took a hit to the head on New England’s first possession against the Los Angeles Chargers. Maye exited the game, went to the locker room, and was ruled questionable to return by the Patriots.
He returned to the game later on in the first quarter and played the remainder of the contest.
After the game, Maye told reporters that he feels fine. It sounded like he felt fine in the moment, too.
“Just kind of got my bell rung on the first drive,” Maye explained. “Sometimes you get your bell rung and gotta shake back. Guess the [NFL concussion] spotter called down, and I passed the test. But I feel good, still feel good. Feel like I was good to go.”
Watch the helmet-to-helmet hit:
Despite missing part of the first quarter, Maye went on to be one of the few productive players for New England. He threw the team’s only touchdown of the day, a 36-yard pass to DeMario Douglas in the endzone just before halftime. Maye finished the day 12-for-22 with 117 yards in the air, and 32 rushing yards on six carries.
The first-year signal-caller said he was happy to pass concussion protocol and play as late into the game as he did, even as the score turned ugly in the second half.
“I want to be in the game. I want to be out there with those guys,” Maye told reporters postgame. “If our guys are out there, I want to be out there with them. Shoot, may see something that will help us next week out there.”
Unfortunately, Maye is no stranger to concussions and hits to the head during his rookie campaign. The 22-year-old suffered a concussion earlier this season against the New York Jets and had to pass the NFL’s five-step concussion protocol before returning to play.
Maye’s frequent blows to the head this season are a side effect of consistently poor offensive line play across 16 games. The Patriots as a whole would benefit from major upgrades to the O-line in 2025 as a means to better protect Maye and his health.
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