NASHVILLE — After getting pulled from last weekend’s win over the Jets by a concussion spotter, Drake Maye didn’t seem thrilled with the test he had to take on the sideline.
Maye was diagnosed with a concussion after a helmet-to-helmet hit from Jets linebacker Jamien Sherwood, and spent six days in the NFL’s concussion protocol before clearing it on Saturday afternoon. Speaking about the process for the first time after a 20-17 loss to the Titans, Maye chuckled and said he wasn’t sure anybody could pass the test he was was given.
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“It’s tough,” Maye said. “You want to be out there, and you want to be out there last week. The spotter up top, they do to protect us quarterbacks now and you can’t blame them with what’s going on with some of the quarterback hits. So maybe the process — I watched the last game on the sideline, I’m in my pads and in my cleats and there’s some metal on the ground inside the tent and I’m doing the balance test, so there’s some gray area there. I don’t know if anybody could have passed that, but really coming into this week, just trusting it and took some tests and felt good.”
Once he was cleared, Maye had no reservations about running the football. On Sunday afternoon in Tennessee the rookie ran for 95 yards, most from any Patriots quarterback since Steve Grogan in 1976.
“I tried to slide headfirst a little bit. Sometimes I think that’s just as dangerous diving into people’s legs, but I’m not going to change the player that I am,” Maye said. “I’m past the protocol and cleared and I’m going to be the player. If they’re dropping out guys and you know there’s some rush lanes up front, I’m going to make them pay. That’s my mindset.”
