Fox Sports commentator Nick Wright wants the New England Patriots investigated and punished for what he called “fudged” injury reporting regarding quarterback Drake Maye’s shoulder before the Super Bowl.
On Wednesday’s episode of FS1’s “First Things First,” Wright cited the Wednesday injury report, days before the Super Bowl.
“The No. 1 story is the quarterback’s injury,” Wright said. “The quarterback said, ‘I had the shoulder shot up.’ That he was dealing with something. Especially in the modern NFL world where gambling is legal if not encouraged, it is the quarterback of a Super Bowl team that I know no way to read it other than the team, let’s call it fudged, information on the final injury report leading into the Super Bowl.”
Wright took it a step further in how he wants to see the Patriots penalized.
“I think the NFL is obligated (to do it), whether it’s take a sixth-round pick... I’m not making that up,” Wright said. “That has been a penalty for injury report stuff in the past... They have to do something.”
The Baltimore Ravens were recently fined for a similar infraction last season when quarterback Lamar Jackson was listed as a full participant in a practice two days before their Oct. 26 game against the Chicago Bears. However, Jackson was ruled out before the game because of a knee injury. The NFL fined the Ravens $100,000.
This isn’t the first time the Patriots have faced such scrutiny for misreporting injuries. In 2014, the Patriots were accused of improperly reporting injuries after Aqib Talib and Brandon Spikes mentioned their injuries after they left the team. The NFL investigated and the Patriots were cleared.
Maye completed 27 of 43 passes (62.8%) for 295 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions in the 29-13 loss, with most of his yardage coming late in the game when the Patriots trailed 19-0 in the fourth quarter. On Tuesday, Maye took accountability for his performance instead of his injury.
“It’s just unfortunate it happened to the throwing (shoulder), but at the same time, I could have prevented it or made more plays,” Maye said via MassLive’s Karen Guregian. “I was feeling like I was able to make throws in the game and was myself. So, nothing that I have much else to say about that.”