Drake Maye says his shoulder is no excuse for his recent performance

FOXBOROUGH — One of the big questions surrounding Drake Maye’s recent struggles is whether they are related to the shoulder injury that hampered him during the Super Bowl.

Nearly eight months have passed since then, but Maye has yet to return to his MVP-caliber form. His turnovers, through three games, outnumber his lone touchdown. He has also struggled with underthrowing receivers at times.

He told reporters on Wednesday that his shoulder is having no impact on the way he is playing this season.

“No, it hasn’t. I don’t think it impacts my decision-making, and that’s what makes and breaks play for quarterbacks,” Maye said. “I don’t feel like we’re struggling to move the ball. I think we’re turning the football over, doing things that are preventing us from scoring touchdowns, and I think that’s one of the biggest things for me.”

“I think we’ve had a history of good football when we don’t turn the football over, playing good football and finding ourselves on the right side of games. So, that’s the biggest thing, and I’m looking forward to another good week of practice. I felt good out there today.”

Maye is averaging two interceptions per game this season. Most of them have come in the second half of games. His completion percentage has dipped from a league-best 72 percent last year down to 63.7 percent this season.

So far, the Patriots’ offensive line has held up relatively well. According to Next Gen Stats, Maye has had an average of 3.04 seconds of time to throw, which is the sixth-most time any quarterback has had in the league through three games.

It’s not just the interceptions that have proven costly. Maye has struggled to get rid of the ball quickly, leading to sacks and other missed opportunities even when he has had time.

He was asked to explain the issues with his decision-making. He mentioned that he needs to trust his offensive line more and said he is responsible for limiting his mistakes.

“That’s this position. There are reps in the game, and there are ones that cost you,” Maye said. “It happens to be that you’ve got to outweigh the good with the bad by a wide margin to play well at this position, and that’s quarterback.”

“I’m feeling good throwing, and I feel like I have some throws I wish I had back, as I always do, and definitely some decisions. But at the same time, I’ve got to trust my guys and trust the guys up front – they’re doing a nice job – to keep on playing football.”

Maye was asked about a report from WEEI that stated there were issues between him and coach Mike Vrabel.

“Coach Vrabel’s been one of the best football coaches I’ve had in my life,” Maye said. “I think Coach Vrabel’s been one of the biggest things as to why this has been so enjoyable for me is playing for Coach. I think we all feel that way in the locker room. He pushes us hard. I’ve loved playing for him, and it’s not going to change.”

“It hasn’t changed, and it won’t change. The way he pushes me, and he coaches the quarterbacks in a way that I really respect, and I’m looking forward to getting going, proving to Coach that I can lead this football team and play good football.”

The Patriots’ offensive scheme under Josh McDaniels has some unique nuances to it. Maye was asked if simplifying the offense would help with his decision-making.

“I think it’s really about us making the plays go,” Maye said. “I don’t feel like we’re going out there, getting outmatched and not moving the football. There are plays out there to be made. There are throws for me to make, and in the run game, there’s extra little strain in blocking and holes for the backs to hit that you’ve seen and we’ve seen.”

“I feel like we’ve had the right plan going into it, and I think shrinking it or changing the whole thing isn’t going to really benefit us,” he added. “We’ve got a good core of what we like to do. We’ve established it in training camp, just finding the times and finding the ways and making them go. We just talked about making them go, and it starts with me making them go and making good decisions.”

Maye’s decision-making will be critical this week against Buffalo. The Patriots split the season series with them last year, and their win was one of the breakout performances that helped launch Maye into stardom.

He’s leaning on his faith and the people around him as he tries to put it all together.

“There’s nothing more important,” Maye said. “My purpose in this life is to be a child of the Lord and knowing that I’m blessed to be in this position. This is always something I can lean on, and also having a good group in this locker room.

“Having a great wife and knowing that my family has always been there and they always will be. They’ll be at every game, win, lose, or draw, and seeing them after the game. So, I know it’s not where we wanted to be and not where we want to start, but it’s how you fight back, respond and know that this league’s not always sunshine and rainbows.”

Khari A. Thompson

Sports Reporter

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.