Patriots' Mike Vrabel addresses injury theory regarding struggles of Drake Maye

One theory regarding the struggles endured by quarterback Drake Maye over the New England Patriots' first three games of this season is that the injury to his throwing shoulder that he dealt with this past winter is impacting his play this fall. 

While speaking shortly after the Patriots' 35-6 blowout loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars that dropped New England to 1-2 on Sunday, Maye did not strongly deny that he might be playing through a physical setback. During his media session on Monday, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was directly asked if he was "aware of any lingering shoulder problem" stemming back to when Maye faced the Denver Broncos in this year's AFC Championship Game. 

Mike Vrabel doesn't "anticipate" this potential Drake Maye problem 

"No, I'm not," Vrabel answered, per the Patriots' website. "I think when you go through an NFL game like that, especially as a quarterback, and you get hit, and again, there was not, to my knowledge, anything that would have put him on the injury report or any sort of treatment. I think every player has normal maintenance and prehab that they go through as a warm-up routine. That's not anything that I would even consider. But I know as you go through a game, I'm sure you get hit. I'm sure things will happen. But I don't anticipate that being any issue going forward."

Maye has been one of the league's worst starting quarterbacks since he tossed the first of three interceptions in the fourth quarter of New England's Week 1 loss at the Seattle Seahawks on Sept. 9. He recorded just one touchdown pass over the season's first three weeks, and ESPN stats show he began Monday ranked 25th out of 30 qualified passers with a 45.9 adjusted QBR on the campaign. Per StatMuse, Maye ended Sunday responsible for a league-worst seven total turnovers on the season. 

Mike Vrabel expands on previous Drake Maye comments

During a Monday morning appearance on WEEI's "The Greg Hill Show," Vrabel suggested that Maye needs "to stop trying to choke the life out of every single play." While speaking with media members, Vrabel was asked how the Patriots can help Maye achieve such a goal without hurting the signal-caller's confidence.  

"Confidence comes from your preparation, and it comes from going out there. I can't manufacture confidence," Vrabel explained. "I can't just say, 'Hey, be confident.' You have to practice. You have to hit those plays in practice, and you have to feel good about it. Taking the meeting to practice and being able to hit those things, or a pass-rush move, or a game, or route, or any protection –- anything that you would need in the football game. Sometimes you want to do something so badly. It's like the tighter you hold the golf club, the more crooked it goes when you hit it. We just have to be able to make sure that we're on the same page, that everybody knows what is expected of them, have a few details, and then go play football."

Maye presumably would have more confidence if No. 1 wide receiver A.J. Brown was in the lineup. Brown hasn't played since he suffered a high ankle sprain with no fracture during the Seattle game, and he reportedly may not return to action until Week 8 at the earliest. 

As for the Patriots, they will next play the 3-0 Buffalo Bills on Oct. 4. Chatter about Maye possibly needing to sit will likely grow louder if he performs poorly at Buffalo's Highmark Stadium.