Is Drake Maye injured? Patriots QB (shoulder) lands on injury report

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye is nursing a shoulder injury as he prepares to play against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl 60.

Maye's injury was only revealed in the lead-up to the Super Bowl. He popped up on the team's Jan. 28 injury report after coach Mike Vrabel had addressed the second-year quarterback's health during a news conference.

How significant is Maye's injury? Here's what to know about the malady and how it will impact the second-year quarterback as he prepares to play in Super Bowl 60.

Drake Maye injury update

The Patriots announced Maye would have been a "limited" participant in the team's estimated practice report for Jan. 28 because of an injury to his right shoulder.

New England did not actually have a practice session Wednesday. However, both the Patriots and Seahawks were still required to release an injury report as part of the lead-up to Super Bowl 60.

Maye's limited status also wasn't a major surprise. Vrabel had hinted the 23-year-old quarterback was banged up during a news conference on Jan. 27.

"I think that everybody, including Drake, is not 100% at this part of the year," Vrabel told reporters when asked about Maye's injury. "We'll do everything that we can to help our players be prepared and get ready for this game."

Vrabel also acknowledged reports of Maye's injury had "probably" been blown out of proportion on social media and that the quarterback hadn't suffered any additional injury during the team's 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos in the AFC championship game.

"No, I wouldn't say that anybody hurt anything," Vrabel said. "Again, this is a sport where there's gonna be things that come up."

"We'll talk about whatever status each player has for the game once we're required to, we understand that," Vrabel added. "But we were able to function offensively, throw the football, run the football, so that's kind of where everybody is at."

While Vrabel didn't share any concrete updates about the timeline of Maye's shoulder injury, NBC Sports Boston's Phil Perry reported the second-year quarterback had been dealing with the right shoulder injury prior to the AFC championship game. It simply hadn't caused him to miss any practice time.

On Drake Maye's health, my understanding is that he was dealing with a right shoulder issue prior to the Denver game.

It hadn't limited him in practices or games, but wasn't 100 percent. The Talanoa Hufanga hit, which resulted in Maye landing hard on his right side, didn't help.

- Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) January 27, 2026

That changed with Jan. 28's practice report, indicating Maye's shoulder might be a bit worse for wear after the AFC championship game. Either that, or the Patriots are just trying to give him some extra rest to get closer to 100% before the Super Bowl with an extra week off.

Maye doesn't appear to be in imminent danger of missing Super Bowl 60. Nonetheless, his practice status will bear monitoring as he prepares for the biggest game of his young career to date.

Who is the Patriots backup quarterback?

Joshua Dobbs is the Patriots' backup quarterback and would relieve Maye in the event he can't play.

Dobbs, 31, is in his first season with the Patriots. The veteran was a fourth-round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2017 NFL Draft but has bounced around to nine different teams over his nine-season career to date.

Dobbs established himself as a reliable backup quarterback with the Tennessee Titans and got the first two starts of his career under Vrabel in 2022. The Tennessee product has only posted a 3-12 career record but has completed a respectable 62.8% of his passes for 3,346 yards, 17 touchdowns and 15 interceptions while adding 515 yards and eight touchdowns on 110 carries.

Dobbs majored in aerospace engineering while at Tennessee and earned the nickname "The Passtronaut" during the 2023 NFL season, when he made 12 starts for the Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings and helped keep both teams competitive amid injuries to Kyler Murray and Kirk Cousins.

Patriots QB depth chart

The Patriots have three quarterbacks across their organization. Below is a look at the pecking order within the unit:

1. Drake Maye
2. Joshua Dobbs
3. Tommy DeVito

DeVito, like Dobbs, is in his first season with the Patriots. The 27-year-old was claimed off waivers from the New York Giants after the NFL's 53-man roster deadline and served as the team's emergency third quarterback throughout the 2025 NFL season.

DeVito has a 3-5 record across eight career starts, all with the Giants, and has completed 65.3% of his passes for 1,358 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Drake Maye injury update: Patriots QB limited before Super Bowl