PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK DRAKE MAYE

PRESS CONFERENCE
August 5, 2026

Q: There's been some discussion. Mike [Vrabel] was interviewed and talked about being surprised how vocal you are in the huddle. Do you think you're any more vocal this year than you were last year?

DM: I think you just try to get more comfortable. I think you get more comfortable, naturally, as it goes on. I appreciate my chances to be in there, and am not taking for granted my responsibility for this team, the power, and the natural respect you get for playing my position. I think I'm just trying to use that to the best of it's ability and am trying to elevate the guys around me. I think it's something that's good to go back and forth. I think we're pushing each other. They push me to be more engaging and more vocal, and I think I'm pushing them to practice better and little things like that, and just trying to have the best back and forth communication that we can.

Q: Drake, you were very close with Will [Campbell] last season. How have you seen Will Campbell grow from his rookie season to now, and what are you seeing on the field that's different about year two?

DM: Yeah, I think it's great for Will. He just gets it, man. I think he gets how to practice, having to come here and show up every day because there are no days off. In practice and in this league, when you're blocking guys in one-on-ones, and you've got team next, and then we have two-minute. It's constant, and I think that's what Will is understanding – how it's different from college. It's constant, and you've got to train your body and train your mind to be out here each and every day, and treat it like, "Man, I've got to try to get better today." I think he's learned that really fast, and I think he's taking it head on, and I'm looking forward to seeing him this year do his thing.

Q: Drake, you started slow yesterday, then finished pretty strong. What did you learn about the group yesterday, and what does a strong finish like that do for you?

DM: Yeah, I hate to say it, but sometimes it's going to happen. And we try to avoid that as best I can. I can maybe do a better job of starting us off faster. But no, you've got to respond – that's the NFL. That's life. Responding from times where you feel like maybe you left some plays out there. And we realize that it's self-inflicted, so we've got to take care of our stuff on offense. Be in the right spot, and it takes all 11 of us, so just knowing we're on the same page.

Q: Drake, Kayshon Boutte has had a really strong camp so far. He's been involved in some trade rumors. Just want to get your thoughts on that and whether you'd like to see him stick around this season?

DM: I think just the way Kayshon is approaching it, man. He's here now. He's where his feet are at, and I'm having fun throwing it to him out there in practice. He's doing a great job, and he makes plays when the football's in the air. And I think he can speak for that, and that speaks for itself. So, I've had a lot of great times with Kayshon, and I'm looking forward to us getting better each and every day.

Q: Drake, you hear the phrase chemistry a lot. The team has chemistry. A quarterback has chemistry with receivers. What's your definition of chemistry, and do you have it with your teammates?

DM: I think chemistry is ongoing. I think there's different levels to it. I think there's times where you try to build it, and there's times where you feel like you can even reach that next level. I think there's always ways to improve with players. I think that when guys that have been playing together for so long... [Tom] Brady and Gronk [Rob Gronkowski], I bet if you asked them, they would still say in year seven and eight they were still building ways for their game. I think there's times where you feel like you're at a stage with a player for two or three years…with Hunter [Henry]. There are still times where me and Hunter, it's our third year playing together, we can still elevate our game. There are so many different looks, routes and plays to where you can feel like, "Hey, I understand what he's doing, what he's thinking," and we're trying to react the same way.

Q: With your relationship with Tom Brady, is there anything that you picked up when it comes to the way that he used and manipulated tempo?

DM: I think Coach [Josh] McDaniels is one of the best to learn it from because he's the one that was teaching it out there and calling it. So, the best thing is knowing what to do before you snap it, not snapping into a bad look or just playing fast for no reason. I think coach is great about making sure we're in a good play. I think that's one of the things you notice from watching some of the tempo, is making sure we have a good play and stay on track because you don't want to snap it fast and have it be incomplete or a negative run. You want to keep the chains moving, keep it going, and keep the defense tired and on their heels. So that's the biggest thing I noticed, is just keeping the chains moving.

Q: Christian Gonzalez's contract negotiations appear to still be ongoing here. You're a year from being in a similar spot where you can negotiate a new deal. Does how this has gone with him make you wonder at all if you might have to wait for a new deal from the Patriots?

DM: I'm not thinking about that right now. I mean, I'm a big fan of Gonzo and how things are playing out, so I respect him for being out here competing and wanting to practice. I think that speaks a lot for him wanting to be here, and I think, like I said, he's one of the best corners in the league. So, I'm looking forward to playing with him, and I'm glad he's on our team.

Q: Is it hard not to think about your future and your long-term future?

DM: Yeah, I don't think it's hard not to think about it. For me, I try to be in the present every day. That's why they call it a present, man. It's a gift. So, I just try to be here, be where my feet are, and trying to get better and better.

Q: Drake, Rob [Robert Spillane] said the other day that you talk more trash than anyone on the offensive side of the ball. Is there someone on the defensive side of the ball who gets after you like you do?

DM: Me and Spill just love talking football. I really respect Spillane's knowledge for the game. I think he loves talking, he loves seven-on-seven and trying to pick me off. I think he's a great player in this league, and I think he just shows up. He had a few interceptions last year. But on defense who talks a lot? On the field? That's a good question. Charles Woods. Yeah, they're outside. I don't really hear him as much. I hear [Christian] Barmore inside a little bit. Barmore will get riled up. I like hearing Barmore talk. But really, I think all of our guys got a little stuff to them. I think that's what you need in a defense. You like hearing those guys. And I try to be nice to them, but at the same time, you've got to have a little talk back because they respect it.

Q: Drake, your relationship with Jared Wilson goes back to when he was almost your college teammate. So how does that help you guys in this transition with him at center?

DM: Yeah, I wanted to play for him back in college. He took his talents to bigger dreams, so I can't blame him for that. But no, I think he's done a great job of adapting. It's a lot more communication. I think he was eager to get inside and play center, so he's learning the center that he played in college. But in the NFL, it's every day, and you've got to be durable, and you've got to have communication and little things like that. But he's doing a great job, and I'm looking forward to building the center and quarterback relationship. I mean, that's one of the biggest relationships on the field.

Q: Drake, for a guy like [Romeo] Doubs, coming into a new system and Josh's offense. How much do you have to work with him, decision-making that he makes, and how to get on that same page as you go into this with a sense of urgency?

DM: Yeah, I think he's a fast learner. That's the biggest thing. He's a fast learner, so it's really easy for a good player that's a fast learner to understand things. And I think you try not to overload him and try to take it one thing at a time. But at the same time, you feel like he's got a great capacity for knowledge of the game, knowledge of how he does things. I just like picking his brain about how they did things in Green Bay and try to say "How are we different? How are we similar?," and how I see things. So, he played with a great quarterback there, and like I said, trying to build chemistry and get on the same page, and he'll make some great plays for us.

Q: Are you looking forward to letting it fly against a different defense next week?

DM: Yeah, we were just talking in the locker room. Yeah, you kind of want to face somebody else, but at the same time, you've got to not shy away from trying to get better against our defense, which is a great defense. So, yeah, we're looking forward to getting some more practice against us, and then obviously got Indianapolis coming in, so looking forward to getting somebody else to hit.

Q: Drake, do you know what the plan is for you when it comes to your preseason yet? How much you're going to play in any series you are going to get?

DM: No, I haven't even heard, so we haven't even talked about that. We're trying to stay focused on practice. I know what we did last year and maybe a little bit of different schedule this year. But I'll be out there if they want me to be out there. So I'm not shying away from it. I like being out there.

Q: Drake, how do you feel you guys are doing against the blitz as far as diagnosing, setting protections, taking advantage when you have an open receiver?

DM: Yeah, I think, last year, that was one of the biggest things I feel like we did a good job at, was handling blitz and handling where guys are coming from blocking it up. Our guys up front, and Rhamondre [Stevenson] and TreVeyon [Henderson], those guys, even Hunter Henry sometimes, man, they did a great job of pass protecting. So I've got to do a better job of identifying it, getting the ball out and not taking unwanted sacks, in my opinion, to get the ball out. I think a lot of them were on me. So I'm doing my part, but I think those guys up front, they're listening to me, telling them where to go, and doing a great job.

Q: Is there anything that you feel like you're learning as a quarterback through watching this battle between A.J. Brown and Christian Gonzalez day in and day out?

DM: Anything I'm learning as a quarterback watching them? I would say just that level of intensity. I think that's game-like. I think it's playoff-like. I think it builds great players, and I think you like to see it. You like to see a little trash talk. I think Gonzo and A.J. are two of the best at their position, and I respect them for going at each other and not trying to just pity pat or take it easy on each other. They're going at each other and making each other better. So, I respect that from them, being two great players in this league and respect how they're approaching it.

Q: Drake, going back to how well you guys picked up the blitz last year, the Seahawks were one of the few teams that had any consistent success with the blitz. Were there any specific lessons that you learned from that game that you maybe tried to take into this season?

DM: Yeah, I think not trying to get in that scenario where we, in my rookie year, of getting behind in the score, off to a slow start and a start that we didn't want. Like I said, self-inflicted, where they're a great defense and they did some great things. I think just finding ways to not have the score put into a pass, drop-back game, where we can use play action, we can use running the football and not just having a drop-back game where they can kind of pin their ears back and fire at us. So, that's the biggest thing in a game like that. They got great players, so we've got to block them up front. I've got to know where they're coming from and know where the ball's going.

Q: Drake, year two in Coach McDaniels system, just talk about how much more comfortable you are now having the same coordinator for the second year in a row.

DM: Yeah, I think it's great to have Coach McDaniels, who knows this offense at the best of the best. I think one of the coolest things is when I have questions or when I feel like there are problems, he always has a clip to explain why those are the answers or a reasoning behind it. I think that's really cool for me, who is inquisitive and loves to ask questions and understand why we do things. To have someone who always has answers, knows what could come up before it comes up – that's one of the best things for me. So, just hearing the same terminology, the same coaching points over and over again, being able to hit them and know them before I come out here on the practice field is great for me. I'm looking forward to seeing what we do in year two. I know it's going to be challenging, more challenging with the year with people studying us and having a look at us, but that's why we've got to elevate and continue to get better.