Did Drake Maye Hurt His Throwing Shoulder on This Play During AFC Championship Game?

Talanoa Hufanga tackled Drake Maye during the third quarter of the AFC Championship Game. Did Maye hurt his shoulder on the play? | Photo by AAron Ontiveroz/The Denver Post

The Patriots beat the Broncos in the AFC championship game on Sunday to earn a trip back to the Super Bowl for the first time since Tom Brady left. New England beat Denver 10-7 thanks in part to Bo Nix breaking his ankle and missing the game.

Now some fans are worried the Patriots might have an injured quarterback heading into the Super Bowl after a ton of unconfirmed visual evidence has emerged suggesting that Maye hurt his right shoulder during the win. Two out of three doctors agree.

Here's video courtesy of Jesse Morse, the CEO of Injury Expertz. According to Morse, Maye was hurt late in the third quarter when he came down awkwardly on his right arm while being tackled by Talanoa Hufanga.

Drake Maye

Right shoulder injury

Here’s the play it happened on.

Most likely possibilities:

posterior capsular sprain
or
superior/posterior labral tear (10-11 o’clock)

I think he got lucky, and it’s likely a sprain especially since he threw a dime 2 plays later to Mack… https://t.co/9jhiJ7xNC6 pic.twitter.com/BacQ6Hs3Vk

— Jesse Morse, M.D. (@DrJesseMorse) January 27, 2026

Then there was a breakdown from David Chao, who operates the @ProFootballDoc account. Chao posted a video where he points out that Maye grabs at his shoulder, is seen trying to loosen up his arm and then runs without his right arm swinging naturally after the tackle. He had also read online that Maye was only texting with his left hand after the game.

Then there's the video where Maye's wife pats him on the shoulder pads and he appears to grimace. And he held up the Lamar Hunt trophy with his left hand. It's all right there if you look close enough.

Of course, not everyone is convinced. In response to Chao's video another doctor made a YouTube video breaking down why he doesn't think Maye suffered a shoulder injury and simply had to adjust his pads.

For what it's worth, Mike Vrabel was asked about the shoulder during a radio appearance on Tuesday morning. His response was that no one on the team was 100% and they would turn in their injury report when it was time to turn in their injury report. So it doesn't sound like the Patriots will be providing a doctor's note, which means it is up to fans to continue to seek a second or third opinion online.

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