Patriots QB Drake Maye remains in the NFL's concussion protocol. His status for Sunday is uncertain

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Patriots rookie Drake Maye remained in the NFL’s concussion protocol on Wednesday, limiting his ability to practice for New England’s game against the Tennessee Titans on Sunday. If he can't play, Jacoby Brissett will start at quarterback.

“(Maye) will throw the ball at times in practice, but he will be limited,” Mayo said Wednesday, when the team was required to release its first injury report since Maye took an unpenalized helmet-to-helmet hit in a victory last weekend over the New York Jets.

“There are people a lot smarter than me, as far as clearing people with concussions,” Mayo told reporters. “We’ll lean on our medical professionals — and also the NFL league policy — as far as getting him ready to play.”

A veteran of five NFL teams over nine seasons, Brissett started the first five games of the season, going 1-4 before he was replaced by Maye in Week 6. He said he would not approach this week any differently, whether Maye is available or not.

“I always try to prepare like you’re the starter. That doesn’t change," he said. “You don’t just look up and be in the league for nine years. So, I just stick to what I’ve known that has gotten me this far.”

Maye ran for a 17-yard touchdown last Sunday and scrambled for 18 yards later in the first quarter, getting hit as he slid. Mayo said the quarterback was pulled from the game after the NFL's spotter called down to the team to have him checked out in the medical tent.

At halftime, Maye said he was ready to come back, Mayo said.

“When I spoke to him, he seemed like he was OK. But I’m not an expert in evaluating head injuries,” the coach said. “The spotter identified it and they know the league and their policy.”

Mayo said Maye would make some throws in practice but be limited to less than 30 minutes — an indication that the No. 3 overall draft pick is in Phase 3 of the league's five-step return-to-play protocol. He would still need to be cleared by team doctors and then by an independent neurological consultant before he can play.

“I do have confidence that if the league says he’s ready to play, that he will be able to go out there and operate,” Mayo said. “In saying that, I feel very comfortable putting Jacoby in there, as he is a professional and always stays ready as you could see from the last game. Having a veteran quarterback like Jacoby puts us at ease.”

Brissett came off the bench to lead the Patriots to the 25-22 victory over the Jets. He completed 15 of 24 passes for 132 yards and twice led New England to go-ahead scores in the fourth quarter.

Although he said he always prepares to play, Brissett said, getting awarded a game ball “obviously wasn’t on my bingo card before the game.”

“I can’t say enough about how tough Jacoby is, just mentally and physically, to step in in that situation,” tight end Hunter Henry said. “He’s played a lot of football in this league, and he’s a great player, and to step in in that situation and come up big for us, just especially that last drive was really, really cool to see.”

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New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett, right, passes to running back Rhamondre Stevenson, left, in the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

New England Patriots quarterback Jacoby Brissett (7) celebrates after Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson ran for a touchdown in the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (10) runs into the end zone for a touchdown in front of New York Jets linebacker Chazz Surratt (55) in the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye celebrates after running for a touchdown in the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye passes the ball in the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets, Sunday, Oct. 27, 2024, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Michael Dwyer)

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — Harrison Smith's 14th year as a steadying presence and energizing force in the secondary for the Minnesota Vikings has hardly been smooth.

The undisclosed health-related matter that sidelined him during training camp was a major setback to his conditioning, putting him in catch-up mode for most of the first half of the season. The Vikings defense was more vulnerable than usual over those early games, too.

Then with the offense struggling through the developmental process with quarterback J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings stumbled through November to drop to 4-8 and precipitate their elimination from playoff contention.

But lately?

“I’ve been playing football a long time,” Smith said after Minnesota's victory over the Detroit Lions on Christmas Day, “and I have not had fun like that in my whole career.”

Smith received the NFC Defensive Player of the Week award for that performance in his 206th regular-season game, after logging three passes defensed, two tackles for loss, one sack and one interception. He last won that award in 2018.

With career totals of 21½ sacks and 39 interceptions, Smith is just the second player in NFL history to hit those marks, behind Pro Football Hall of Fame member Ronde Barber, who had 28 sacks and 47 interceptions. Smith is also one of four players all time, with Barber, Brian Dawkins and Charles Woodson, to total at least 50 tackles for loss, 100 passes defensed and 200 regular-season games played. Smith (202) also trails only Jim Marshall (270) and Mick Tingelhoff (240) on the team’s all-time list for career starts.

Following the interception against the Lions, Smith was feted on the sideline in a circle of his teammates. He was the recipient of multiple ovations from the U.S. Bank Stadium crowd. Afterward, as Smith tried to sum up what that experience meant to him, his voice cracked several times before he had to pause to compose himself.

“The fans here have never experienced a Super Bowl. They always show up, and for them to keep showing up ... it just shows how much they love the team, how much they love everything that goes into it," Smith said. “We’re out of the playoffs, and everybody shows up in white. They do their part, and one of these days they’ll get it.”

The scene sure felt like a farewell. But so did Smith's emotional postgame remarks after the Vikings were ousted from the playoffs last season.

Could he envision himself returning for a 15th year?

“I can’t speak on that right now. I’m a very much in-the-moment type of guy,” Smith said.

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell, who has forged a close relationship with the six-time Pro Bowl safety, has made no secret of his desire to keep Smith in place.

Defensive coordinator Brian Flores has turned over some of the play-calling and decision-making to Smith on the field before and after the snap, and an increased emphasis on blitzing in recent weeks has paid plenty of dividends.

"He has an unbelievable feel of the system. He has an unbelievable feel of what ‘Flo’ and the defensive staff really want to do, and he’s out there playing a game within the game,” O’Connell said. “It’s been spectacular to watch. It’s been awesome from my perspective to watch what he’s able to do at this point in his career mentally, and then physically he’s making a lot of plays as well.”

The uncertainty about next season for the defense stretches beyond Smith, with other expensive veterans facing the possibility of being released for cost savings with the Vikings projected to be well over the salary cap approaching the 2026 league year.

Then there's Flores, whose contract will soon expire, making him a free agent. Though his landmark discrimination lawsuit against the NFL that’s still in the court system nearly four years later continues to loom over any interviews he gets for head coach openings, there's also an opening for another club to try to lure him away with a break-the-bank offer for a lateral move.

O'Connell said this week that he doesn't anticipate such a scenario playing out and hopes to have him as long as he can before he's hired again as a head coach.

“I love Minnesota. I love this team. I love working for and with K.O.," said Flores, who was head coach of the Miami Dolphins from 2019-21 and joined the Vikings in 2023. "This place has shown me a lot of love, and I show them right back, and so I don’t know how much more there is to it. From a football standpoint, it fits. There’s always a, let’s call it, business part of this. But the football all lines up. We’ll just see where it all goes.”

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Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff (16) throws under pressure from Minnesota Vikings safety Harrison Smith (22) during the second half of an NFL football game, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

Minnesota Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores stands on the sideline before an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions, Thursday, Dec. 25, 2025, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)