Drake Maye’s shoulder looks OK in Super Bowl arrival shots
Maye’s injured throwing shoulder remains a hot topic as the Patriots arrive in the Bay Area, but a new photo should be a sigh of relief.
Drake Maye and the New England Patriots have arrived in the Bay Area to kick off Super Bowl week. And some of the shots of the team's arrival should alleviate some of the concerns around Maye's injured throwing shoulder.
Maye was photographed upon his arrival carrying a travel bag of some kind with that same right shoulder. One would think that if the injury was anything serious, he wouldn't be putting any unnecessary strain on it. Granted, this is about as speculative as speculation can get. But just use common sense and logic, here. Unless you think this is a performative shot and Maye is carrying an empty bag, his shoulder seems relatively OK.
Maye officially appeared on the Pats' projected injury reports last week, as they went through the bye week ahead of their real Super Bowl prep. The quarterback was listed as a limited participant with a right shoulder injury, as expected, on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday, the team added an illness to Maye's injury situation and listed him as a non-participant, then gave him a "Questionable" tag for the game.
Those were all, of course, projections. And last week was last week. This week is where we will really get a sense of where Maye and his shoulder is at with the game fast approaching. We're still expecting him to be limited with the right shoulder, but full participation would certainly be a great sign for Maye's health.
Does this look like a quarterback with a serious shoulder injury to you?
Oh, you thought that might be Photoshopped? We have VIDEO evidence too:
"It's AI!"
Either way, as one might expect with a franchise quarterback ahead of the Super Bowl, the discourse around Maye's shoulder reached critical mass by the end of last week. Shows have to talk about stuff and the injury status of the most important player on the team is certainly something worth talking about. But Maye was never going to be out on Sunday, and regardless of how his shoulder feels, he probably needs to at least make a few good throws for the Patriots to win this Super Bowl over the Seattle Seahawks. It is what it is.
And if you want to push back against the nervous nellies going on and on about that shoulder, just show them that picture and listen to the crackpot theories start to pour out.
