The New England Patriots landed in Munich, Germany on Thursday for Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions and then made quarterback Drake Maye available to reporters to discuss all things international NFL games, and this trip, and the game.
And Maye took the opportunity in front of the German and American reporters to tell them what he thinks of them — which apparently is not much, sometimes.
It began with a mundane question about running back Rhamondre Stevenson being present for the team’s practice and working off to the side during the portion of drills open to reporters.
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“I think that’s just, speaks to, you know, first off, the media not really knowing 100 percent what they’re talking about a lot of the time,” Maye said.
Hey now.
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Just for the sake of context, this is where we remind everyone that Drake Maye is salt of the Earth kind of people. Nice. Polite.
He’s competitive, yes, but not with that Tom Brady-grab-opponents-by-the-throat mentality. And yet, there he was in Munich grabbing the media by the proverbial throat with his opinion of them.
So where did this come from?
First, it shows that recent reports of Stevenson’s injury status obviously bothered Maye. One local Boston outlet reported Stevenson is expected to miss multiple weeks with a plantaris tendon injury behind one of this knees, an injury he suffered in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers.
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That report apparently struck a nerve with Maye.
“He’s a guy that wants to be out there, you know, wants to be back for his team and that’s what we’re in the midst of trying to make a run here and win a big one before the bye,” Maye said. “So this is a time for players, a lot of the players on this team that are trying to get out there, play with teammates and knowing that he’s a great player, help us out.”
Maybe the report about Stevenson rubbed Maye the wrong way because it suggested the running back is not going to contribute through the bye when, in fact, he’s trying to do the opposite.
But this begs more context. Again, Maye is a good person. He wasn’t angry with reporters when he slammed them. He even shared his FIFA thoughts and said maybe Harry Kane’s experience under great pressure could help him transition to being an NFL kicker as the star has suggested he wants to do.
But Maye, in only his third NFL season, is perhaps also showing the wear of having an inconsistent season as the followup to last year’s trip to the Super Bowl. That inconsistency has made him the target of criticism.
And the Patriots have been at the epicenter of media attention — much of it negative – this year that perhaps also has affected how Maye views the coverage of his team.
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Remember, the coverage of the relationship between coach Mike Vrabel and reporter Dianna Russini was seemingly nonstop for months and was admittedly exhausting at times.
The Patriots apparent Super Bowl hangover has also been a constant topic of discussion and frustration because for whatever reasons, including injuries, the team that lost only three regular-season games last season is 5-4 now and the schedule doesn’t promise to get easier.
It’s impossible to know if Maye was letting the frustration over all that rough coverage slip into one moment of a press conference.
But it raised eyebrows.
And maybe, with Stevenson trying to play on Sunday counter to a report, Maye had a point.
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