New England Patriots
“That’s kind of where my mindset is right now, standing here today,” said New England’s head coach.
Drake Maye during Patriots training camp on Aug. 10. AP Photo/Charles Krupa
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FOXBOROUGH – Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is not expected to play in Thursday’s preseason opener against the Colts, head coach Mike Vrabel told reporters on Tuesday.
New England held a joint practice with Indianapolis on Tuesday, which was an opportunity for Maye and other starters to get reps in without having to play in a preseason game which involves full contact.
“I wouldn’t anticipate seeing Drake out there on Thursday, but that’s all subject to change,” Vrabel explained. “That’s kind of where my mindset is right now, standing here today. Really, it’s just important that we get the work in and get things accomplished that we’re looking to get accomplished. That can always change, but I wouldn’t anticipate that happening right now.”
Meanwhile, some of the players who are further back on the depth chart will get opportunities to show what they can do in the games.
“That’s really the only reason we do these joint practices,” Vrabel said. “It would be a lot of the frontline players and whoever is available. Some of the guys that maybe won’t get as much work today will get extensive work in the game on Thursday.”
Maye, who will turn 24 later this month is coming off of a career year. He was the runner up for league MVP last season, and helped lead the Patriots to the Super Bowl.
New England’s defensive players got a reminder of Maye’s status when the final practice of minicamp ended earlier after linebacker Bradyn Swinson collided with Maye. Vrabel gathered the team into a huddle before wrapping the practice. The message, Swinson and other players said, was to stay away from the quarterback.
Maye appeared in two preseason games last year, completing 7 of 12 passes for 58 yards. He was sacked once.
Ben Wooldridge got the bulk of the Patriots’ preseason passing attempts last year. He played in all three games and started the one game that Maye didn’t start. Joshua Dobbs, who was Maye’s backup last year, also received a significant amount of snaps.
This season, the Patriots have Tommy DeVito and rookie Behren Morton behind Maye on the depth chart.
Now is the time to take stock of where the team is and where it can improve.
“I think we always look at improvement,” Vrabel said. “We talk about getting ready for the next season, we always look at improvement in the ways that we can improve individually and how we can improve as a team.”
“It’s always critical that we continue to do that on and off the field. This journey that we’re going to go on is going to be completely different than the one we went on last year and that’s all of our jobs, to prepare for it now.”
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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