Will Drake Maye play on Sunday?
The answer, according to Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo on Friday, is maybe.
After Mayo told the media that his rookie quarterback was still in concussion protocol, Doug Kyed of The Boston Herald asked, “Is it possible with where he's [at] in the protocol right now, that he'll be ready by Sunday?”
“Yes,” quickly answered Mayo.
Nothing more than a simple “yes.”
So, for now, “maybe” it is.
That’s great news for Patriots fans, considering the rookie quarterback suffered a concussion just five days ago during his team’s 25-22 win over the Jets, snapping the franchise’s longest losing streak since 1993.
Based on comments Mayo made to the media ahead of practice on Wednesday, we know that Maye was already in Phase 3 of the league’s concussion protocol, as he was being limited to just 30 minutes of practice time.
For him to be cleared by the NFL to play on Sunday in Nashville against the Tennessee Titans (1-6), he will need to officially clear both Phase 4 and Phase 5, which are as follows:
Phase 4: Club-Based Non-Contact Training - “The player continues cardiovascular, strength and balance training, team-based sports-specific exercise, and participates in non-contact football activities (e.g.throwing, catching, running, and other position-specific activities). Neurocognitive and balance testing should be completed no later than the end of Phase Four with the results interpreted as back to baseline.”
Phase 5: Full Football Activity - “Upon clearance by the Club physician for full football activity involving contact, the player must be examined by the Independent Neurological Consultant (INC) assigned to his Club. If the INC concurs with the Club physician that the player’s concussion has resolved, he may participate in his Club’s next practice or game.”
When asked on Friday if Maye had been able to increase his practice production throughout the week, Mayo opted to be vague.
“He's been limited,” said the first-year head coach. “I don't really want to get into all that stuff, but he's still in the protocol.”
Mayo wanted to make it clear that he’s not an expert on the concussion protocol, and didn’t feel comfortable answering specific questions about it.
“I wish I knew,” said Mayo. “I'm not the protocol expert. That's a [head athletic trainer] Jim Whalen question, not me.”
Not specific to the protocol, Mayo was asked if he felt like Maye was tracking towards playing.
“I don't want to get into the hypotheticals,” he said. “I will say this - look, if he can't play, then we have enough confidence and faith in [Jacoby Brissett] that he'll be able to step in and help us win a football game.”
And according to Mayo, the preparation for Sunday doesn’t change much, whether it’s the 22-year-old Maye or the 31-year-old Brissett.
“It's not a massive difference,” said Mayo of having to prepare for the possibility of two different starting quarterbacks. “Like, having just the ultimate scrambling, Michael Vick-quarterback versus the ultimate pocket passer - it's not that big of a contrast, or difference as far as game planning.
“But, there are certain things that we've had to tweak, and those guys have handled it well. Not just at the quarterback position, but I think all of the guys – the offensive line, receivers, tight ends, running backs, they're all in tune to what we have to do no matter who the quarterback is.”
During the media portion of practice, Maye was seen running through drills, looking as he normally would on the field at this point in the week. He was moving well, and throwing the ball with his normal zip. If you didn’t know the guy was in concussion protocol, you wouldn’t think anything was wrong with him.
Regardless of what the media was able to see, he needs to officially clear the final two phases of that protocol to play in Week 9.
“Once he gets out of the protocol,” said Mayo, “I think we feel he's been cleared by the medical professionals. He'll be ready to go.”
The Patriots, despite having one more win than the Titans, are currently 3.5-point underdogs for Sunday at both BetMGM and FanDuel.