TRANSCRIPT: Drake Maye Press Conference 8/5

Here’s what New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had to say during his press conference on August 5, 2026.

On the fact Mike [Vrabel] was interviewed and talked about being surprised how vocal he is in the huddle, and if he thinks he’s any more vocal this year than he was last year?

“I think you just try to get more comfortable. I think you get more comfortable naturally as it goes on. I appreciate my chances to be in there and kind of not taking for granted my responsibility for this team and kind of the power and kind of the natural, really, I think, kind of respect you get for playing my position. And I think just trying to use that to the best of its ability and try to elevate the guys around me. And I think it’s something that’s good to go back and forth. I think pushing each other, they push me to be more engaging and be more vocal. And I think, I’m pushing them to practice better and little things like that and just try to be the best, back and forth kind of communication we can have.”

On the fact he’s always been very close with Will [Campbell] last season and how he’s seen Will Campbell grow kind of from his rookie season to now, and what he’s seeing on the field that’s different about him in year 2:

“Yeah, I think he just— it’s great for Will. He just gets it, man. I think he gets how to practice. He gets having to come here and show up every day because there’s no days off in practice in this league, when you’re blocking guys and one-on-ones, and you got team next, and then we got 2-minute, like, it’s constant. And I think that’s what Will’s understanding, different from college, it’s constant. You gotta train your body and train your mind to be out here every day, each and every day, and treat it like, man, I gotta try to get better today. And I think he’s learned that really fast. And I think he’s, taking it, taking it head on. And I’m looking forward to seeing him this year do his thing.”

On the fact they started slow yesterday and then finished pretty strong, and what he learned about the group yesterday, and what does a strong finish like that do for him:

“Yeah, I think it’s – I hate to say it, but sometimes it’s going to happen. And we try to avoid that as best I can. I can maybe do a better job of starting us off faster. But no, you got to respond. That’s the NFL. That’s life. Responding from times where you feel like you left some plays out there, and we really realized that it’s self-inflicted. So we got to take care of ourself on offense, be in the right spot, and it takes all 11 of us. So just knowing we’re on the same page.

On Kayshon [Boutte] and the fact he’s been involved in some trade rumors, and his thoughts on that and whether he’d like to see him stay stick around this season:

“I think just the way Kayshon’s approaching it, man. He’s here. He’s here now. He’s where his feet are at, and I’m having fun throwing him out there in practice. He’s doing a great job and he makes plays when the football’s in the air. I think you can speak for that. That speaks for itself. I’ve had a lot of great times with Kayshon, and I’m looking forward to keep getting better each and every day.”

On the fact he hears the phrase ‘chemistry’ a lot. ‘The team has chemistry.’ A quarterback has chemistry with receivers. What’s his definition of chemistry and does he have it with his teammates:

“I think chemistry is ongoing. I think there’s different levels to I think there’s times where you try to build it, and there’s times where you try to, maybe, feel like you can, even reach that next level. I think there’s always ways to improve with players. I think guys that are playing for so long and, whoever it was, [Tom] Brady and Gronk [Rob Gronkowski], I bet if you asked them, they’d still say in year 7 and 8, they’re still building ways for their game. And I think there’s times where you feel like you’re at a stage with a player for 2 or 3 years with Hunter [Henry]. And there’s still times where me and Hunter, it’s our 3rd year playing together, we can still elevate our games and kind of, different looks of so many different routes and so many different plays and looks where you can feel like, ‘Hey, I understand what he’s doing, what he’s thinking, and we’re trying to react the same way.'”

On watching tape of Tom Brady, and if there’s anything he picked up when it comes to the way that he used and manipulated tempo:

“I think Coach McDaniels is one of the best about, kind of learning from it. Cause he’s the one that was teaching it out there and calling it. So I think the best thing is just knowing what to do before you snap it. I think not snapping into a bad look or just to play fast for no reason. I think Coach is great about making sure we were in a good play. I think that was one of the things you noticed when we’re watching some of the tempo is making sure we have a good play and stay on track. Because you don’t want to snap it fast and have an incomplete or a negative run. You want to kind of keep the chains moving and keep it going to keep the defense tired and on their heels. So that’s the biggest thing I noticed is just kind of keeping the chains moving.”

On the fact Christian Gonzalez’s contract negotiations appear to still be ongoing here, and he’s a year from being in a similar spot where he can negotiate a new deal, and if how this has gone with him made him wonder at all if he might have to wait for a new deal from the Patriots:

“I’m not thinking about that right now. I mean, I’m a big fan of Gonzo and kind of how things are playing out. So I respect him for being out here and competing and wanting to practice. I think that speaks a lot for him wanting to be here. And, I think, I’ve said it before, he’s one of the best corners in the league. So I’m looking forward to playing with him, and I’m glad he’s on our team.”

On if it’s hard not to think about, his future and his long-term future and maybe being—

“I don’t think it’s hard to think about it. For me, I’m trying to be in the present. Every day, the present— that’s why they call it a present, man. It’s a gift. So I just try to be here, be where my feet are, and try to get better and better.”

On the fact someone said he talks more trash than anyone on the offensive side, and if there’s someone on the defensive side of the ball who gets after—

“Me and Spill [Robert Spillane] just love talking football. I really respect Spillane’s knowledge for the game. And, um, I think he loves talking, and he loves 7-on-7 and trying to pick me off. And I think he’s a great player in this league and I think he just shows up, man. And he has a few interceptions last year, but on defense, who talks a lot on the field? That’s a good question…

Charles Woods?

“Yeah. They’re outside. I don’t really hear him as much. I’ll hear [Christian] Barmore inside a little bit. Barmore will get riled up. I like hearing Barmore talk. But really, I think all our guys got a little stuff to them. I think that’s what you need in defense. You like having hearing those guys and I try to be nice to them, but at the same time, you got a little talk back, because they respect it.”

On his relationship with Jared Wilson, goes back to when he was almost his college teammate and if that kind of helps them both in this transition with him at center:

“Yeah, shoot, I wanted to play for him back in college. He took his talents to bigger, bigger dreams. So, I can’t blame him for that. But no, I think he’s done a great job of adapting. It’s a lot more communication. I think he was eager to get inside and play center. So he’s kind of learning, kind of the center he played in college. But in the NFL, man, it’s every day. And you gotta be durable and you’ve got to be, communication and little things like that. But he’s doing a great job and looking forward to kind of building, center and quarterback. I mean, that’s one of the biggest relationships on the field.”

On a guy like [Romeo] Doubs coming into a new system and Josh’s offense, and how much does he have to work with him, decision-making that he makes and get him on that same page as he goes into this with a sense of urgency:

“Yeah, I think he’s a fast learner. That’s the biggest thing. He’s a fast learner. So it’s really easy for a good player that’s a fast learner to kind of understand things. And I think there’s – you try not to overload him and try to kind of take it one thing at a time, but at the same time, he feels like he’s got a great capacity for knowledge of the game, knowledge of how he does things. And I just like picking his brain about how they did things maybe in Green Bay and try to, say, ‘How are we different? How are we similar?’ And kind of how I see things. So he played with a great quarterback there, and I think, trying to, like I said, build chemistry and get on the same page, and he’ll make some great plays for us.”

On if he’s looking forward to letting him fly against a different defense next week?

“Yeah, we were just talking in the locker room. Yeah, you kind of want to face somebody else. But at the same time, you’ve got to not shy away from trying to get better against our defense, which is a great defense. So, we’re looking forward to getting some more practice against us, and then obviously got Indianapolis coming in. So looking forward to getting somebody else to hit.”

On if he knows what the plan is for him when it comes to preseason yet, how much he’s playing, how many series he’s going to get:

“No, I haven’t even heard, so we haven’t even talked about that. We’re trying to stay focused on practice, and I know what we did last year and maybe a little bit different schedule this year, but I’ll be out there. If they want me to be out there, I’ll be out there. So I’m not shying away from— I like being out there.”

On how he feels he’s doing against the blitz as far as diagnosing, setting protections, taking advantage of an open receiver:

“Yeah, last year, that was one of the biggest things I feel like we did a good job at. Just handling blitz and handling where guys are coming from and blocking it up, man. Our guys up front and Rhamondre [Stevenson] and TreVeyon [Henderson], those guys, even Hunter sometimes, man, they did a great job of pass protecting, that offensive line. So I gotta do a better job of, identifying it and getting the ball out and not taking kind of unwanted sacks, in my opinion, to get the ball out. And I think a lot of them were kind of on me. So I’m doing my part, but I think those guys up front, they’re listening to me, telling them where to go, and they’re doing a great job.”

On if there’s anything he feels like he’s learning as a quarterback through watching this battle between AJ Brown and Christian Gonzalez day in and day out:

“Anything that I’m learning as a quarterback watching them…? I’d say just that level of intensity. I think that’s game-like. I think it’s game-like. I think it’s playoff-like. I think it’s – it builds great players. And I think you like to see it. You like to see a little trash talk. And I think Gonzo and AJ are two of the best at their position, and I respect them for going at each other and not trying to, ‘Hey, just pitty-pat and take it easy on each other,’ going at each other and making each other better. So, I respect that from them, being two great players in this league, and respect of how they’re approaching it.”

On going back to how well they picked up the blitz last year, the Seahawks were one of the few teams that had any consistent success with the blitz and if there were there any specific lessons that he learned from that game he’s maybe tried to take into the season:

“Yeah, I think not trying to get in that scenario where we kind of, my rookie year, of getting behind in the score and [getting] kind of off to a slow start and a start that we didn’t want and, like I said, self-inflicted where they’re a great defense, and they did some great things. And I think just finding ways to not have the score put into a pass drop-back game where we can use play action, we can use running the football, and not just having a drop-back game where they can kind of pin their ears back and fire at us. So that’s the biggest thing in a game like that. And also they’ve got great players. So we’ve got to block them up front. I’ve got to know where they’re coming from and know where the ball’s going.”

On this being year 2 for him in Coach McDaniel’s system, and if he can just talk about how much more comfortable he is now having the same coordinator for the second year in a row:

“Yeah, I think it’s great to have Coach McDaniels who knows this offense at the best of the best. I think one of the coolest things is, when I have questions or when I feel like there’s problems, he always has a clip to explain one of those answers or a reasoning behind it. I think that’s really cool for me, who’s kind of inquisitive and loves to ask questions and understand why we do things, who always has answers. [He] knows what could come up before it comes up and that’s one of the best things for me.

“So just hearing the same terminology and the same kind of coaching points over and over again and being able to hit them and know them before I come out here on the practice field is great for me. And I’m looking forward to seeing what we’re doing year 2, and knowing it’s going to be more challenging with the year of people studying us and having a look at us. But that’s why we’ve got to elevate and continue to get better with us.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE: This transcript was done based on the available footage and is subject to typographical errors. If you spot anything, please let me know in the comments below.)

About Ian Logue

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.

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