New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye will return to practice Wednesday, but his status for Sunday's Week 9 road game against the Tennessee Titans remains uncertain.
Maye suffered a concussion in last week's 25-22 win over the New York Jets at Gillette Stadium. He took a hit to the back of the head on a scramble play in the second quarter. He left the game shortly after and didn't return.
"Drake is in the protocol, and he will be a limited participant today in practice," Mayo told reporters at his press conference. "So in saying that, yeah, he will throw the ball at times in practice today, but he will be limited."
"There are people a lot smarter than me as far as clearing people with concussions. We'll lean on our medical professionals and also the league policy as far as getting ready to play. I do have confidence, if the league says he's ready to play, that he will be able to go out there and operate. In saying that, I feel very comfortable putting Jacoby (Brissett) in there. He is a professional and always stays ready, as you can see from the last game."
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Mayo did not explicitly say which phase of the NFL's concussion protocol that Maye is in right now, but based on his comments, it sounds like he's in Phase 3 of the five-step process. Mayo said Maye will not practice for more than 30 minutes Tuesday.
Here is Phase 3 of the league's concussion policy:
"Players can take part in football-specific exercises and work with the team for up to 30 minutes under supervision. Once the player has demonstrated his ability to engage in cardio exercise and supervised strength training without aggravating symptoms, he may proceed to the next phase."
Sounds like Maye is in Phase 3 of the NFL’s concussion protocol. Mayo says he’ll be limited to 30 minutes of practice when he’s out there later this afternoon. https://t.co/VvYVSkcqLT
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) October 30, 2024
Mayo also noted that he doesn't envision the Patriots bringing in another quarterback if Maye can't play Sunday, and that Joe Milton would be the backup to Brissett.
Maye started the last three games for the Patriots. He is completing 63.1 percent of his passes for 542 yards with five touchdowns and two interceptions, in addition 114 yards and one touchdown running the football, in four appearances this season.
