Here’s what New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had to say during his press conference on August 20, 2026.
On his thoughts on the joint practices:
“I think we got a lot of great work. I think the biggest thing is that’s a good football team over there, and I think just not riding the roller coaster. I feel like we had some good periods that we were attacking them and had some good plays. Then we had some periods where we got to continue the competitive stamina. And that’s the thing about this game. It can’t just be one play here, one play there. You got to string some plays together in a row. And I felt like we did that more yesterday than we did today.”
“So just getting back— I know it’s tough down there in the red zone a lot of bodies in a short amount of space, but I feel like we could have done more in the red zone. And I think that’s something for us to learn. It’s one of our focuses this year to be better in the red zone. So we got some work to do.”
On how his level of play going up with AJ as they both spend more and more time together on and off the field:
“Yeah, just, I think just growing that relationship it’s just huge for quarterback and receiver like himself just to keep growing and keep not just feeling like you’re leveling off and trying to keep getting better. So he does a great job of talking to me, seeing what he sees, seeing what he’s seeing in the DB and just seeing what I see from my point of view. So he’s eager to learn and eager to share his opinion. I think that’s really important for a guy like him and he continues to make plays and we’ve got to find more ways to get him the football.”
On the fact he was saying yesterday that you make his life easier, and how does AJ make your life easier out on the field:
“Yeah, I think anytime a receiver like that who carries that much weight and just find ways to get him the football. And like I say, all the time, I try to get the ball into their hands because they make me look good. And that’s the number one thing with A.J. He’s made a lot of plays in his career taking it the distance on crossing routes and making great catches on deep balls. And he’s just he’s another leader in the huddle too. I think that’s one of the biggest things with AJ. He’s got this demeanor and respect from the team that he just walked in with because of the player he’s been. And I think he’s taken that head on and I really respect the way he goes about his work.””
On the interception down here in the end zone, if there was any kind of miscommunication:
“Yeah, no, I – [was] just late, late to the football, late in the red zone. you can’t be late in the red zone down there. It’s tight. And it’s a concept that we probably need to get some more work on and just find some timing. So you just can’t be late down there.”
On him mentioning wanting to be better in the red zone from last season, and what were the areas that he felt held him back and how he feels like he’s progressing this season as he works through those:
“Yeah, I think we just gotta find a way to make positive plays. I think that’s the biggest thing – try to keep moving forward. And it starts with me with communication and avoiding penalties and avoiding sacks and avoiding negative plays. So I think that’s the biggest thing with us, just to find positive plays and keep getting guys the football and running the football, I think is a big area as well.”
On what he think has been his biggest area of growth as a leader in the last year, from last year at this time in training camp to now:
“Yeah, I think I still got a ways to go. I think I still need to say more. I think I’m comfortable with a lot of guys in the huddle, a lot of guys on our team. And I think there’s areas for me to take the guys on offense especially and bring them to a different level and elevate their game, elevate my game, and kind of bleed that into the defense and the whole team.”
“So I got some ways to work. And I think that’s the best thing about working out here and finding some adversity. You’ve got to find something and keep straining.”
On the fact Romeo Doubs has made a handful of nice catches over the last handful of practices, and how he feels like his connection with him has started to grow:
“Yeah, he’s done some great things. The way he moves and kind of cuts off on some routes and can kind of move his body side to side and kind of get by people is really impressive. And it’s really fun to watch. And he’s only going to continue getting better and better as he gets more comfortable in this offense. So I’m looking forward to him and he’s made some great ‘climb the ladder’ catches just keep giving him chances to climb the ladder and he’ll come down with it.”
On how he feels like the offensive line did blocking those guys this week:
“Yeah, I think they stood in there and tried to take it on the chin. I think that the best thing about those guys up front is they never really get the love that they deserve. And I think they really deserved it yesterday. And I think there’s some things today, including myself, of getting the ball out and them kind of standing more firm up front today that we can continue to challenge them. And those guys have a tough job. And it was 2 consecutive days in a row of getting a good front that’s got some good players up there that’s made a lot of plays in this league. So they had a tough task and I think they, they stood up to it well.”
On speaking of Romeo Dobbs and what it’s like when he sees him jump up and get over the defender and kind of bring the ball down, is that a point of emphasis then that he can kind of hit him in those situations and target him:
“It’s very comforting seeing that from a receiver going up and make a play up top. It’s a, ‘it’s a his ball or nobody’ is what I’m trying to do. And it’s been his ball more times than not.”
On , when it comes to A.J. [Brown], if he’s still kind of learning when he’s covered, when that means he’s open, and when he’s covered, when he’s is not open kind of working through…
“Yeah, I think you have to with the details the details of this offense and what I like to see when I’m coming backside to him or he’s frontside in the, in the in the concept. So just different versions and moving him around and he’s done a great job of learning kind of what to do, where to line up. And there’s still ways to go, but I’m looking forward to seeing him in this offense.
On how his process has changed or improved in terms of recognizing the pressure and also manipulating the pocket:
“Yeah, I think you always have an ID against teams that have a good front and they may not bring pressure as much, but when they do, they’re going to bring it. So just having a concept of what the defense likes to do coming into the week and then from there, knowing where my problem is and trying to find answers.”
On the fact that 2 years ago when they had joint practices against Philadelphia, it was lopsided. A lot of people came away from it like ‘Eagles are elite and the Patriots have a long way to go,’ and how he thinks about that now, 2 years later, where he’s competing against them and the competition is really tight and he’s winning sometimes, they’re winning sometimes, which wasn’t the case 2 years ago:
“Yeah, that’s what joint practice is about. And last – 2 years ago, I was a rookie coming in here. I was watching some of those plays earlier in the week. I was just laughing. I motioned somebody who was coming forward and snapped it, and there was a penalty, and little things like that that we were laughing about. Just how far you’ve come. But I think they won the Super Bowl that year. I think that was what, 2024? Yeah, they won it. So you can see that they got a great football team, a lot of the same players over there. So we got to continue to show our identity. I think we definitely improved in regards to 2024, that’s for sure. So we got some ways to go, but I’m proud of the guys’ effort.”
On if he got to talk to Jalen Hurts while he was here and kind of, if so, what those conversations were like:
“Yeah, I just literally caught him on the way out as he was leaving the field. I’m a big fan of his game. Rooting for him. I told him back when I was committed to Alabama back in the day, he was – some of the quarterbacks that I was watching him play there and then he ended up going to Oklahoma.”
“But yeah, he’s a Super Bowl champ. That speaks for itself. I had one of my best friends, Sam Howell, was in the room with him last year, so I got to know some stories about Jalen and how he works and respect him a lot for that and pulling for him.”
On the fact he’s gone against [Christian Gonzalez], Sauce Gardner, now Quinyon Mitchell, Cooper DeJean, and how much confidence that gives him heading into the season, that he can go up against any level of cornerback:
“Yeah, I mean, I like our guys. I mean, it’s pretty simple. I like our guys and I’m always going to like our guys better than theirs. So I think we got a chance to do a lot of things in the passing game and we’ve got to find ways to get different guys the ball and we’ve done that throughout camp. So we’ve got to keep on building on that. But I think there’s a lot of great defensive players in this league and we got some good ones on our side.”
On if he has any say in how much he gets to play in these preseason games and how much he feels like he take away from your appearances in preseason games:
“No, I think you take it back to looking at my Eagles preseason game my rookie year. There’s some great things that you learn about being in the huddle and kind of the operation and being in the stadium with the play clock and little things like that. And obviously coming into my third year, I got a lot of that, kind of understand what it’s like. And really I’m just here with the guys and trying to get better and whatever they think with the preseason, I’m here to play and and ready to go out and whatever they think. I’m kind of here for them and here for this team.”
On how he would describe his mindset this year when it comes to scrambling, and if it’s different than last year, if it’s just when needed, and how he would describe how he’s going to approach that this year:
“Biggest thing is trying to remain a passer as long as I can. Trying to remain a passer and kind of move to throw instead of kind of always tucking it early and doing some things. But there’s a lot of great quarterbacks in this league that are really effective outside the pocket and doing some great things on pump faking and little things like that. So I think I need to focus on trying to execute the passing game plays first, and when the pocket breaks down or when I feel like I can go make a play, just kind of do what I have been doing and just kind of play ball and be natural.”
“But I think that’s the biggest thing. Really, other than that, these guys, I think practicing scrambles real is a different deal and you’ve got to have some reps at that. So I’ll continue to work on it and just know that when you get the ball out on time, that’s always better.”
(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.)
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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.
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