Drake Maye sustained a right shoulder injury during New England’s game against Denver but finished the contest.
Maye was injured on a hit late in the game and went 1 of 4 passing after the play that caused the injury. The New England Patriots later confirmed the concern by placing Maye on the injury report with a right shoulder designation, aligning with the assessment from Sports Injury Central’s Pro Football Doc, Dr. David Chao.
Meanwhile, Sam Darnold was listed on the injury report ahead of the Seattle Seahawks divisional-round game against the San Francisco 49ers with an oblique issue but played through it. Darnold then delivered a strong performance against the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship, showing no obvious limitations.
Chao noted that Darnold’s injury is already more than two weeks old and will be roughly four weeks old by Super Bowl kickoff. “He has played in two games since the injury and had a fantastic second game,” Chao said. “Is it possible the injury lingers? Sure. But he has performed through it, and oblique injuries typically don’t linger at four weeks. Could he re-aggravate it? Yes, but there isn’t much concern with Sam Darnold.”
The greater uncertainty surrounds Maye. Chao said, "so why are we more worried about Drake Maye? There’s an unknown factor, and it’s his throwing shoulder. The injury is new, even if you subscribe to the theory that there was a pre-existing condition. It clearly worsened on Sunday with the Hufanga hit. He was never listed on the injury report before and now he is, so it certainly got worse. What the trajectory of that injury looks like remains to be seen."
Chao emphasized that the expectation is for both quarterbacks to start and play in the Super Bowl. The key question, however, is whether Maye’s shoulder will limit him in any meaningful way, a concern that does not appear to apply to Darnold based on recent performance.
Stay tuned to SICscore.com for the latest NFL injury analysis.
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