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Drake Maye Evades Praise as He Prepares for the 2026 Season

Drake Maye New England Patriots

Getty

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye doesn't want praise for 2025. He wants to get better for the 2026 season.

After a two-decades-long dynasty, the New England Patriots found themselves left out in the cold. Tom Brady had left town, and replacing him hadn’t gone well. Meanwhile, the team around the quarterback position seemed to regress. That is, until 2025, when Drake Maye broke out in his second professional season.

Maye recently appeared on The Greg Hill Show. There, as the interview was coming to an end, Hill thanked Maye for saving the region. It was a little tongue in cheek, but Maye had a very serious response, sidestepping the praise.

“I wouldn’t say all that,” Maye said. “We got some work to do.”

Coming off a season where Maye took New England back to the Super Bowl and was second in MVP voting, it would be easy to sit on his laurels. It doesn’t sound like that’s happening, though, which is exactly what Patriots fans want to see. Now, it’s a matter of putting it into practice on the field.

New England Patriots Owner Robert Kraft on the Future of Drake Maye

Robert Kraft New England Patriots

GettyNew England Patriots owner Robert Kraft

Part of what has made the New England Patriots so exciting is that their young core is also the most talented part of the team. There’s a chance they could be highly competitive for a long time, but the team does need to work on long-term contracts for players like Drake Maye and Christian Gonzalez.

Robert Kraft was asked about those potential extensions at the NFL’s Annual Meetings. There, he shared he was confident about the future.

“Well, we always try,” Kraft said. “We have a salary cap, so we have a limit. So, we have to think (about) what’s best for the team in terms of timing, of the signing and of course, the earlier you do it, it’s believed it’s more economically satisfactory. But we leave that to Mike Vrabel, Elliot Wolf and our people making contract decisions. We’re lucky to have those two players and I hope and believe they’ll be with us for the long term.”

Drake Maye is coming off a season where he completed 72% of his passes for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns to 8 interceptions. Meanwhile, Christian Gonzalez had 10 passes defended and developed into one of the league’s best lockdown corners. Both were named Pro Bowlers.

Drake Maye Shared His New Physical Appearance

Drake Maye New England Patriots

GettyNew England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye

Part of the offseason for Drake Maye has been getting ready for 2026. Another part has been working to give back to the community. That recently included appearing at the 13th annual Saving by Shaving event.

The event would go on to raise $4 million for the Boston Children’s Hospital. Less importantly, it also gave Maye a new look heading into the voluntary program this April.

“We love kids,” Maye said. “They’re oftentimes the biggest fans of us players, and I think it’s just such a cool experience to be able to shine a positive light and to be there for them and help any way that we can.”

Maye has been making his impact in New England felt on and off the field. He’ll have the chance to start building on that on-field impact soon too. The first day of the team’s voluntary program is on April 20th. There, he can show off his new haircut.

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