In the aftermath of the Patriots (14-3) winning the AFC on Sunday, an account on X calling themselves the “Pro Football Doc” gained steam for a clip claiming Drake Maye suffered a shoulder injury against the Broncos (14-3).
That account is run by David J. Chao, whose bio claims he spent 17-plus years as an NFL head team doctor who now gives injury insights on SiriusXM and FOX Sports Radio. He writes injury analysis for a website called Sports Injury Central, which appears to have some sort of sports gambling tie-in.
“There is no question in my mind that Drake Maye injured his right throwing shoulder against the Denver Broncos,” Chao said in the clip. “Of course, how bad is the injury remains to be seen. What type of injury - I’m still gathering data, but let me give you the evidence.”
Chao went on to break down both the play where he believes Maye was injured along with how he operated the rest of that evening (in-game and postgame), all of which leading him to the conclusion that there should be more concern for Super Bowl LX about Maye’s shoulder than Seahawks (14-3) quarterback Sam Darnold’s oblique, which almost kept him out of their Divisional Round matchup against the 49ers (12-5).
During his weekly appearance on The Greg Hill Show on Tuesday, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was asked about the speculation Chao and others on the internet have done surrounding the health of his All-Pro quarterback heading into their biggest game of the season.
“Internet doctors have seen an issue in Drake Maye's shoulder following a hit during the AFC Championship Game,” said WEEI’s Chris Curtis. “Is he 100% healthy today as you guys get ready?”
"There's not a player on our team that's 100% healthy,” Vrabel quickly responded.
"Is he healthy enough to play at a high level?" Curtis followed up.
"I would imagine we'll go through the injury report, and whenever we have to turn that in, we'll turn it in,” said Vrabel. “But nobody's 100%. This will be our 21st game."
With weather turning Monday into a travel day for the team, Vrabel will meet with the media on Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. ET. Maye’s shoulder will undoubtedly be a topic of conversation, and Vrabel will likely give a similar answer to what he said this morning on the WEEI airwaves.
With the week being pushed back a day, that means the media won't be able to watch the team practice until Thursday. That will also be the day Maye goes to the podium for his weekly visit with the press.
Binoculars will be pointed at Maye’s right shoulder, and questions about this supposed injury will come his way early and often.
Before then, he’ll join WEEI Afternoons on Monday for his weekly visit with the program. WEEI’s Andy Hart is already setting the stage for one of their topics:
Get ready for nearly two weeks of shoulder talk, Pats fans.
This is the price you pay for advancing to the sports’ biggest stage. Everything this team says or does over the next two weeks is going to be run through with a fine tooth-comb.
Maye’s health aside, it’s good to be back.
Tune in each and every Monday throughout the football season to Patriots Monday on WEEI. Head coach Mike Vrabel joins The Greg Hill Show at 6:30 a.m. ET, and quarterback Drake Maye joins WEEI Afternoons.