After that unexpected Bo Nix injury earlier in the playoffs, teams are starting to fret about the health of their quarterbacks.
The New England Patriots and Drake Maye are going to the Super Bowl, but there is now concern about his right (throwing) shoulder.
The worries started as social media chatter about a particular play in the third quarter of the Pats' win over the Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.
If you're going to get dinged up, now might be the time. There are two weeks between the conference title game and the Super Bowl.
But still, an injury to a quarterback is never a good thing. The Patriots' backup is Joshua Dobbs, with Tommy DeVito as QB3, if it ends up mattering.
MORE: NFL fans want Tony Romo to 'shut up'
Is Drake Maye injured?
Maye may be injured a bit, but it doesn't look like as big a concern as it could've been.
There was concern about this play when Maye was driven to the ground:
Drake Maye
— Jesse Morse, M.D. (@DrJesseMorse) January 27, 2026
Right shoulder injury
Here’s the play it happened on.
Most likely possibilities:
posterior capsular sprain
or
superior/posterior labral tear (10-11 o’clock)
I think he got lucky, and it’s likely a sprain especially since he threw a dime 2 plays later to Mack… https://t.co/9jhiJ7xNC6 pic.twitter.com/BacQ6Hs3Vk
MORE: Somehow, there has been a more nonsensical Pro Bowl QB than Shedeur Sanders
A different analyst has pushed back against the idea of there being a real injury.
Brian Sutterer with a nice breakdown of the Drake Maye “injured shoulder play” that everyone’s talking about. He doesn’t believe there’s an injury either. Pic.twitter.com/3zgWORRCiu
— Pats Planet 🪐 (@PatsPlanet_) January 27, 2026
Patriots reporter Greg Bedard adds in his own post on X that it's believed to be a non-issue.
The information that I have at this moment is that any Maye “injury” to his throwing shoulder is not believed to be an issue
— Greg A. Bedard (@GregABedard) January 27, 2026
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was asked about the rumor on The Greg Hill show. He didn't address the shoulder theory specifically, instead saying that nobody on the roster is completely healthy at this stage of the season.
"There's not a player on our team who is 100 percent healthy," Vrabel said. "I would imagine we'll go through the injury report and whenever we have to turn that in, we'll turn it in. But nobody is 100 percent. This will be our 21st game."
It'll remain something to keep an eye on, but for now, it appears Pats fans can take a deep breath.
More NFL news:
- What Steelers hiring Mike McCarthy means for Aaron Rodgers
- This is what we know about Matthew Stafford's retirement plans
- Cardi B gets involved in Patriots celebrations after advancing to Super Bowl
- Tom Brady broke out a crazy $653,000 watch
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba is bringing the Cowboys to the Super Bowl with a tattoo
- Drake Maye really called his own number on the biggest play of the year