Drake Maye spent another day on Wednesday out on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium getting back to work with his teammates ahead of the start of the 2026 Patriots season.
That work included throwing passes to players like Kyle Williams, Demario Douglas, and Hunter Henry, while also getting acquainted with newcomer Romeo Doubs.
While other players like Mack Hollins and Kayshon Boutte weren’t out there, Wednesday was a chance to start building towards what will likely be a challenging 2026 campaign. Maye seemed excited as he spoke to reporters, discussing his goal of starting to take steps towards a productive third NFL season.
Still, Maye’s heard the buzz this offseason of all the recent A.J. Brown trade rumors. However, when asked about it on Wednesday during his press conference, Maye downplayed things. Instead, he admitted that he’s simply focused on working with the current guys in his locker room who he knows will be out there with him in the coming months.
“Yeah, I think it’s part of the NFL. They throw names around there around every team, depending on whoever looks best in the graphic and the jersey on social media,” said Maye. “So, I’m really just focused – we got some new guys in here that I’m working with, and I know that some, a lot of talk with that, but if he ends up being on our team, great. What a great player. And if he doesn’t, we still got to work these guys here. So it’s a tough balance, but I know he’s a phenomenal player.”
Maye had an up-and-down day on Wednesday, with Doug Kyed of the Boston Herald logging Maye completing 13-of-22 (59%) of his throws during the session. One of those passes included an interception by rookie cornerback Karon Prunty, who was among the players who stood out Wednesday.
The play happened on an out-route to Williams, where Maye put the ball too far inside, and Prunty had tight coverage and stepped in front of it and picked it off, with the pass likely going the other way for a pick-six had it been a real game.
If he ends up being on our team, great. What a great player. And if he doesn’t, we still got to work these guys here.
“Yeah, just left the out route inside,” said Maye on the turnover. “You can’t do that in this league. It’s as simple as that. So I think it’s part of throwing out route to the field and not being outside with the football. These players in this league are going to take it the other way. So, I think that’s about it.”
It was a good test for Maye, as Prunty was known as a “sticky” player in college, and it’s a sign that he’ll likely be practicing against another talented secondary that should help push him again this season.
Things kick off on the road against the Seahawks on the 2026 Patriots Schedule in Week 1. Maye said that game adds a little motivation, largely because it’s a chance to beat a good team to open the season against the same one that ended things back in February.
“I think it’s a chance for us to get some extra motivation during training camp, with starting off with a bang like that, a chance to get an opponent that left a bad taste in our mouth,” said Maye. “So I think it’s something for us that’s going to really make us work. We’ve got to bring it week 1 on the road in a tough environment.”
“They’re going to be hanging their banner, and that’s a part of it. So I think it’s going to be interesting. It’s going to be fun. It’s going to be a tough task. So it’ll be something for us to get some extra motivation and make training camp better.”
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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.
