SANTA CLARA — New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye took all the first-team repetitions in a 90-minute practice Wednesday as the team continues preparations for Super Bowl LX against the Seattle Seahawks.
Maye had predicted full participation earlier in the day when answering questions about his right throwing shoulder, which had limited his participation in practice last week.
“I’m feeling great. I’m so fortunate to be out here with these guys,” Maye said, adding that he was looking forward to a full and “normal” week of practice.
Maye previously said he felt his shoulder turned a corner on the Patriots’ flight to the Bay Area on Sunday, and that it responded favorably to a normal workload in practice Monday. Teams weren’t required to submit an official injury report until Wednesday and Maye was listed as a full participant.
Starting linebacker Robert Spillane, who in recent days expressed confidence he would be in uniform for the Super Bowl, was the only player not to practice – due to an ankle injury sustained in the AFC Championship Game.
The Patriots practiced in full shoulder pads and while the team’s game-plan had been installed before arriving in the Bay Area, coaches saved some new offensive wrinkles to introduce to players this week.
Vrabel told pool reporter Lindsay Jones of The Ringer that it was the suggestion of offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who previously coached in eight Super Bowls as a full-time Patriots assistant, and an additional Super Bowl following the 2011 regular season when he joined New England’s staff as a general assistant after serving as Rams offensive coordinator during the year. When the Rams fired their coaching staff at the end of the 2011 regular season, it allowed McDaniels to return to the Patriots for their playoff run that ended in a loss to the New York Giants in Super Bowl XLVI.
“No one has more experience than Josh with this, and he felt like that we needed to do something to keep them engaged and stimulated, so they weren’t looking at some things for the second or third time,” Vrabel said.
Vrabel had called Wednesday and Thursday “critical” work days for the team before family members and friends were scheduled to arrive in the Bay Area.
“We’ve got some things to clean up, and then we’ve got to forge ahead,” Vrabel said. “We want to continue to keep the energy and the enthusiasm, but the execution is going to end up really helping us win the game.”
Owners Robert and Jonathan Kraft attended practice with former Patriots receiver Julian Edelman.
