FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Even with a victory over the much-hated New York Jets and four-time NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers, the New England Patriots couldn’t celebrate too much. First-round draft pick Drake Maye left the game in the first half after taking a helmet-to-helmet hit at the end of a run.
He was placed in the NFL’s concussion protocol, with no timetable on when he might be able to come back. Coach Jerod Mayo said that Maye’s status was “above my pay grade.” An NFL player in the concussion protocol must be cleared by an independent neurological consultant before he can return to play.
“I’m not going to get too much into that, as far as Drake questions,” Mayo said on Monday, a day after New England snapped a six-game losing streak by beating the Jets 25-22 . Maye scored his first NFL rushing touchdown when he beat New York linebacker Chazz Surratt to the pylon on a 17-yard run. He scrambled again near the end of the first quarter and went to slide but was hit by New York linebacker Jamien Sherwood.
Maye finished out the series — taking a sack and throwing two incomplete passes. Mayo said trainer Jim Whalen told him Maye had to go to the medical tent to be checked out. “I was surprised,” the coach said.
“He threw a couple of good balls afterward, and I thought he was still pretty sharp in those regards. But obviously, it’s above my pay grade as far as pulling him out of the game and putting him in the protocol.” Maye did not speak to reporters af.
