Super Bowl Opening Night in Santa Clara served as the first media appearance of the week for Patriots quarterback Drake Maye. Video from that session prompted a former New England offensive lineman to call out what he described as an unusual aspect of the quarterback’s body language.
Ross Tucker Points to the Lack of Motion in Drake Maye’s Throwing Shoulder
Ross Tucker, speaking on “The Dan Patrick Show”, said clips from the event showed Maye using only his left arm while interacting with the media.
“I don’t know if it’s a big deal, but it’s a deal,” Tucker said. “If you watch the videos, Drake Maye is like this, talking with people, and his left arm is really demonstrative, and he’s not moving this an inch. Not an inch.”
Tucker, who attended Opening Night in person, said the absence of movement in Maye’s right side appeared out of the ordinary.
“Maybe that’s just his natural thing, I don’t know,” Tucker said. “I feel like I’m kind of a both-hands thing, or even if I’m moving my left hand as I’m talking, there’s still some movement over here. It looked awkward… That doesn’t seem natural.”
Here is a clip of Maye speaking Monday night.
Overreaction or valid concern? 🤷 You make the call ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/kGk9iZXpAB
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) February 3, 2026
Concerns about Maye’s health surfaced days following the AFC Championship. Maye has been dealing with shoulder discomfort ever since. Last week, the Patriots limited his participation in Wednesday and Thursday practices.
The Patriots have maintained their normal Super Bowl practice schedule this week and have not issued any public statement indicating a change in Maye’s availability for Sunday’s game. Maye has always been expected to play and that remains the expectation.
The second-year quarterback will make his Super Bowl debut after a standout season. He completed 354 of 492 passes for 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions and added 450 rushing yards and four scores on the ground. He led New England to a 14-3 regular-season record. According to PFSN’s QB Impact metrics, Maye ranked No. 2 with a 91.1 grade. The Patriots earned the AFC’s second seed and advanced through three postseason victories over the Chargers, Texans, and Broncos.
Tucker’s thoughts are based on the visual from the media session rather than any medical report or team source. The Patriots and Seahawks are scheduled to continue on-field preparations through the remainder of the week before kickoff on Sunday.
Teams must issue their first official injury reports on Wednesday.
