Drake Maye Plays Through Shoulder Injury, Blames Turnovers Not Health

Drake Maye showed up on the Patriots injury report with a right shoulder issue, but you can file this one under minor noise: he was a full participant at Wednesday's practice. The more alarming line on his stat sheet isn't the shoulder — it's the one touchdown against six interceptions he's thrown so far this season.

Maye waved off any connection between the shoulder and his rough start, saying it hasn't affected his decision-making and that the offense isn't struggling to move the ball. His diagnosis was blunt: New England is turning the ball over and leaving touchdowns on the field, and he pointed to the team's history of playing clean, winning football when they protect it. He said he felt good out there and is looking forward to another week of work.

He's not wrong about the mechanism. This is the same quarterback who put up 4,394 passing yards, 31 touchdowns and just eight picks across 17 games in 2025 (actual), good for 354 PPR points. The volume and dual-threat upside — 450 rushing yards and four scores on the ground last year — are exactly why our model has him ranked QB3 and #9 overall heading into 2026-27.

The Injury Picture

Maye isn't the only banged-up name worth tracking. Cornerback Christian Gonzalez is dealing with his own shoulder injury; he's got eight tackles and five passes defensed across three games this season. Defensive tackle Christian Barmore (shoulder) and offensive tackle Morgan Moses (foot) both sat out Wednesday entirely, and a long list of defenders — including Dre'Mont Jones and Craig Woodson — were limited. Safety Brenden Schooler is back practicing off the NFI list but isn't eligible to play this week.

The Fantasy Fallout

For managers, the shoulder shouldn't change your Thursday plans — a full practice is a full practice. The real question is whether the turnover binge is a blip or a trend. Encouragingly, Maye's last five games are running +1.7 fantasy points above his season average, so the rushing floor is keeping him afloat even while the picks pile up.

Verdict: hold. You didn't draft Maye as a QB9-overall talent to bench him over a shoulder note that didn't cost him a single practice rep. The six interceptions cap his weekly ceiling until the ball security tightens up, but the yardage, the legs and the schedule keep him a confident starter. Don't panic-sell a top-three fantasy quarterback off three ugly games.