The New England Patriots took to the Stanford practice fields Wednesday afternoon to begin the final phase of their preparation for Super Bowl LX against the Seattle Seahawks. Unlike what has happened so far in the regular season and playoffs, accredited media does not have the opportunity to have a 10- to 15-minute period at the beginning of the session. Instead, a reporter from the group provides information.
The Patriots pool reporter this year is PFWA member Linsday Jones, who provided the following updates.
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Drake Maye takes all first team reps
As he noted earlier in the week, the shoulder injury Drake Maye suffered in the AFC Championship Game is no longer an issue to worry about. According to the group’s report, the second-year quarterback took all of the Patriots’ first-team reps in Wednesday’s practice; he was listed as a full participant on the injury report.
New England ran seven-on-seven and full-team drills during the session. Maye and company performed full shoulder passes throughout practice.
Mike Vrabel does extra work
One of the Patriots’ plans to address the extended preparation for the Super Bowl was not to install the entire game plan last week, but to save some parts for their time in California, a suggestion from offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. As part of this process, Vrabel pulled a group of defensive linemen aside after practice for additional training and hands-on demonstrations.
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Seahawks starter injured
While the Patriots practiced at Stanford, the Seahawks held a one-hour, 50-minute session at San Jose State. The big story that came out of the session was that safety Nick Emmanwori left early with an injury. According to Kalyn Kahler’s on-site report, the rookie hurt his ankle while defending a pass at the end of practice. He left under his own power and was eventually listed as a limited participant.
“He had an ankle today, we brought him in to get it looked at and we’ll go from here and figure out what the next steps are.” head coach Mike Macdonald told the pool reporter.