Ahead of the start of Wednesday’s practice session to begin Patriots training camp, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was asked about the recent practices involving Drake Maye and a variety of offensive players that took place in Charlotte, North Carolina, in preparation for the season.
A big emphasis this offseason with Vrabel has been trying to push Maye to start evolving his role as a leader with the team, and apparently Maye took a big step in putting that workout with his teammates together.
Vrabel credited Maye for making it happen, and it’s something that his quarterback apparently approached him about during the process.
“I think that there’s a lot of things that go into that,” said Vrabel. “I think that that’s part of it, being able to organize it. He did, I would say, 95% of it on his own to be able to plan the travel, the housing, the location, and everything that they were going to do and the places that they were going to do it. So, I think that that’s a large step, not dealing with other things in the offseason in the summer and getting married, and everything like that.”
“It was important to him. That was something that he wanted to do. It was something that he approached me with early on. So it was something that he was thinking about.”
Several players have since talked about the fact Maye was the one who helped bring them all together, which included names like DeMario Douglas, Rhamondre Stevenson, Kendrick Bourne, Kyle Williams, Ja’Lynn Polk, and Hunter Henry, as well as veteran Stefon Diggs, who were among the players on hand.
The sessions had plenty of energy, with Bourne posting a video featuring footage from the three days on his YouTube channel, and the guys generally seemed to enjoy their time together on the field, both as friends and teammates.
Maye was asked about the workout Wednesday, adding that he enjoyed their time together and that being able to bond was a big part of it.
“I think it’s something that you miss those guys for a month,” said Maye. “You just want to get back, get a refresher from them, whether it’s route-wise, play-wise. I think the most important thing is just bonding together. I think getting the guys together, going out to eat, having some fun, getting some work in. I think it was … glad that those guys came out and showed up.”
Those workouts gave them a good head start ahead of what appeared to be a productive outing on the practice field to kickoff training camp Wednesday morning. For Maye, this is his second training camp, and he added that he’s already done his part to try and help prepare the new players for what’s ahead in the coming weeks.
“Yeah, it’s a lot different,” said Maye about being in his second year as a pro. “Coming here, know what to expect. That’s what I was telling the rookies earlier. It’s going to be a kind of whirlwind. You’re scrambling from period to period. Next thing you know, you’re up against the defense and some full-speed plays.”
“I think just take your time, enjoy it. Take the time to watch the film. I think more than that, just have fun. I mean, the plays, just don’t overthink it, and I think just play instinctive.”
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Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.
