Dr. David Chao set off alarm bells throughout New England when he was the first to suggest after the AFC championship game that Patriots quarterback Drake Maye had suffered an injury to his right throwing shoulder.
Chao, who spent 17 years as NFL team doctor, was ultimately vindicated in the sense that Maye has, in fact, been listed on the injury report with a right shoulder issue. How serious the injury is and how it might affect Maye's performance in Super Bowl 60 on Sunday remains subject to speculation, though.
Maye himself has downplayed whatever he's dealing with, telling reporters at Super Bowl Opening Night on Monday that he threw as much as he usually would during Monday's practice and "felt great."
Chao, who goes by @ProFootballDoc on X, joined WEEI's Greg Hill, Jermaine Wiggins and Ted Johnson on Radio Row Wednesday afternoon and shared his latest thoughts on Maye's shoulder.
"I do believe it's a mild AC joint sprain," Chao said. "...And this is how Jim Whalen, excellent athletic trainer, and the medical staff are going to treat it. First of all, they're going to employ the magic powers of the extra week off before the Super Bowl, right? Magic healing powers. Second of all, they're going to have a lot of this amazing drug in him that you all had on Sundays, that's extra on Super Bowl Sunday, called adrenaline. And then, yes, likely vitamin T, toradol, just like Sam Darnold is taking for his oblique.
"Can he get a shoulder injection, AC joint injection to numb it? Yes, if he wants to. Not all quarterbacks will want to. The good news is it's the shoulder, but it's not really the shoulder joint. It's not the rotator cuff. It's not the labrum. It's on top, the AC joint. John Elway won Super Bowls with a grade three chronic AC joint separation. So, I've never said Drake Maye wasn't gonna play.
"My only question – don't shoot me for this; I'm not saying he can't – is I want to see what happens when he's really driving the ball and following through. That's where it can aggravate the AC joint. If it's numb, it won't be an issue. Will he be apprehensive about it or not? Will he continue to be the great deep ball thrower that he has been all season? That's been a key to the game. And if he can, and he may be able to, probably will be able to, that's my only question mark."