Friday Patriots Notebook 1/30: Vrabel Not Worried About Maye
Patriots Notebook: Vrabel on Maye's Growth, Gonzalez's Impact, and Latest Injury Report
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Mike Vrabel spoke to the media on Thursday and clarified Maye’s status as it pertained to a report where the second-year quarterback had been dealing with an ailment before Sunday’s game in Denver.
Vrabel was asked directly if his latest injury was something he was dealing with prior to this past Sunday.
“No,” Vrabel answered flatly. “Because then it would have been listed on the injury report before then.”
He was then asked about his level of concern for his young quarterback, and he quickly shifted the discussion to their upcoming preparation ahead of next Sunday’s game.
“Not much,” he said. “I try not to have a whole lot of concern. I just want to try to prepare the football team and make sure that everybody’s ready and that we all have a plan, and not to surprise anybody, and make sure that our guys are focusing on the first and second down plan. I know we’ve tried to map out the week here or week and a half, and not look at the end of it, but focus on what we can do today, try to learn our opponent, and be ready for first and second down.”
As Maye himself said this week, it’s a long season, and everybody’s dealing with something at this time of year, expressing that he’s excited for this next match-up. Seahawks quarterback Sam Darnold joined Maye this week on Seattle’s injury report, with the quarterback dealing with an oblique injury, which had him listed as “limited” during this bye week.
The end result is ultimately that both of these players will likely be on the field just over one week from now, and that these latest reports will just be a footnote to go along with the end of their respective seasons.
One key area where Vrabel has tried to push Maye in his second season has been in helping him develop as a leader on the field.
Maye initially appeared to be a quiet presence out there in the earlygoing, seemingly preferring to lead by example rather than being vocal. As nice as that is, being even more assertive is something that Vrabel has seemed to try to get out of him. He’s come a long way, and the latest “Mic’d Up” segment featuring both Maye and Christian Gonzalez from this past weekend certainly showed that.
“Hey, what more do you want? To the Super Bowl, baby! To. The. Super Bowl,” screamed Maye in those final minutes.
“Let’s do it, man. Let’s do it, and get the f*** out of here.”
He was spotted emphatically telling the guys around him they needed to dig deep one final time as the team tried to get one more first down to move the chains and close out the football game.
“Hey, one – one first down,” implored Maye. “One first down. One. Come on!”
“Six yards! Six yards! Six yards!”
His teammates, two of whom are young with both Will Campbell and Jared Wilson at left tackle and left guard, respectively, all rallied around him as they prepared to line up for that last drive.
Maye then took things into his own hands as he scrambled up the left side and across the marker, sealing the victory.
“I think that comes out in numerous ways, and people see different things,” said Vrabel on Thursday of Maye. “You could be a yeller, a screamer, you could paint your face black and scream and yell with eye black and be a competitor, or you could be a little bit more laid back and still compete when the ball snapped. And I’d say that’s probably what Drake is. And then you guys get a little bit of a glimpse into how he is when he’s mic’d up.”
If you haven’t seen the video yet, it’s definitely a must-watch.
Vrabel has also talked about the difference he’s seen in Gonzalez. While Gonzalez is definitely more quiet on the field (most of his Mic’d up was footage of other people his microphone picked up), Vrabel has seen more of an aggressive player down the stretch, which is what has stood out.
“There’s just a presence, I feel like,” explained Vrabel of his young cornerback. “Again, not that there was anything, I’m trying to not make this, that there was wrong. I just felt him. I just felt when he blitzed, when he covered, when he… Maybe it was just me, but I got a pretty good seat for some of these games.”
“And so I just felt him start to continue to impact at a greater level. You heard him, you saw him, and obviously, his play. So that’s no secret that we’ll need him to play well as well as the rest of our other good players.”
Gonzalez made the game-sealing interception in Denver and will likely face a difficult match-up against whoever he ultimately gets paired up with against the Seahawks. Jaxon Smith-Njigba had an unbelievable performance against the Rams, catching 10 passes on 12 targets for 153 yards along with a touchdown, while Rashid Shaheed (1 catch, 51 yards), Kenneth Walker (4 catches, 49 yards), and Cooper Kupp (4 catches, 36 yards, 1 touchdown) are all going to be a challenge for New England’s secondary.
While Maye was again listed as “limited” on the team’s injury report on Thursday, three others sat out the practice session.
Linebacker Robert Spillane was the most notable name, with the veteran having left Sunday’s contest in Denver with an ankle injury. He’s been a key part of the defense down the stretch since coming back, and having him out there next Sunday will likely be one of the biggest things to keep an eye on.
Meanwhile, fellow linebacker Harold Landry and offensive lineman Thayer Munford also didn’t practice. Landry is likely precautionary as the team has tried to be careful navigating through his knee injury, while Munford has also been dealing with a knee injury, but also had “illness” as a designation on Thursday.
This bye week certainly comes at the right time. The Patriots have been fortunate from an injury standpoint, but the extra rest is likely going to do the veterans some good ahead of their final game of 2025.
Vrabel said on Thursday that the team staff has done a good job helping players navigate through the process of getting tickets for family members who are planning to be there supporting them. “We’ve got most of that finished,” said Vrabel. “I think that the staff has done a fantastic job to help facilitate all that and those needs. And again, we want our players and our families that are important to us to enjoy this process. We have a responsibility to prepare for the game and for this opportunity. So again, our staff has done a fantastic job, and I’m confident that they’ll help our players if things come up throughout the week.” … Vrabel was asked about John Streicher’s impact this season, and the head coach said he’s been a big part to not only his success, but the players’ as well. “Well, just not only the staff, but the players,” he said of Streicher. “He makes a great connection with these guys, and they know that they can trust him with things that they may need to talk about. Same as with the staff, obviously. Keeps me in line, and keeps me focused, and keeps me constantly thinking about things that we should do. So again, it’s no secret how much he means to me, and he’s a large part of the reason why we’re here.” … Vrabel was also asked about the job outside linebacker’s coach Mike Smith and what went into the process during his hiring. “I’ve known Smitty for a while,” said Vrabel. “Just different people. Again, he’s close with some friends of mine and has worked with some great organizations. He’s been with Kansas City, and Green Bay, and Minnesota. He has a passion for coaching that position. Just like any other position, you try to get as many candidates as you feel that you’d like to interview and talk to, and then try to figure out what the best fit is.” … Vrabel spoke about Bill Belichick’s snub by the Hall of Fame, but he’s confident his former coach will get in there eventually. “I’m sure Bill will get in,” he said. “I mean, again, that’s something that’s well out of my control. I know that the time here with Bill were eight great years, the teammates and everybody else that we had. I’m sure that Bill will get into Canton.”
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