Super Bowl LX won’t be played until Feb. 8. The Seahawks and Patriots, though, are required to release an estimated injury report with designations for this week, as if the game was played Sunday.
So, the fact that quarterback Drake Maye is listed as questionable with a right shoulder injury and an illness is not a big deal. It is next Friday’s injury report that will reveal more about his status.
The Patriots listed eight other players as questionable.
Running back Terrell Jennings (hamstring/cleared concussion protocol), linebacker Harold Landry (knee), offensive tackle Thayer Munford Jr. (knee/illness) did not practice Friday. Landry, Munford and Spillane did not practice all week.
The other four players who are questionable are defensive lineman Joshua Farmer (hamstring), tight end Hunter Henry (rest), wide receiver Mack Hollins (abdomen) and offensive tackle Morgan Moses (rest).
The fact that Henry and Moses are questionable tells you how seriously the Patriots took the report.
Patriots rookie offensive tackle Will Campbell has faced plenty of criticism for his play, but head coach Mike Vrabel thinks the AFC Championship Game was a good sign of Campbell’s growth.
Vrabel said Campbell had a better game against a tough opponent in Broncos edge rusher Nik Bonitto, and he hopes to see more improvement against the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX.
“I thought he played better against a really good rusher. We’ll need to keep improving, and we’re excited he has another week to do it,” Vrabel said.
The Patriots took Campbell with the fourth overall pick in the draft and immediately made him their starter at left tackle, protecting Drake Maye’s blind side. He’ll be one of the most important players on the field in the Super Bowl, and his ability to keep Maye upright will go a long way toward determining whether the Patriots can beat the Seahawks.
The Patriots closed out the practice week without quarterback Drake Maye.
Maye was limited with a right shoulder injury on Wednesday and Thursday, but was off the field entirely on Friday. Head coach Mike Vrabel said at a press conference that an illness joined the shoulder as the reason why Maye did not participate.
Vrabel said that Maye’s shoulder has responded “favorably” to the practice work that he’s done this week and that he would have participated in Friday’s session if not for the illness. Vrabel also said Maye was at the facility and taking part in meetings despite not being able to practice.
The Patriots will head to California this weekend to continue their preparations for facing the Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. Maye’s health will continue to be something to watch through those sessions.
Last year, no seven-figure wagers were reported regarding Super Bowl LIX. This year, there are already two of them.
Via David Purdum of ESPN.com, wagers of $2 million and $1.2 million have been placed on the Patriots, who are 4.5-point underdogs in the upcoming game against the Seahawks.
Despite the big bets, some analysts believe the Super Bowl handle will drop this year, given the absence of superstar players, the lack of the Taylor Swift angle, and the rise of prediction markets, which are siphoning cash away from sportsbooks.
The American Gaming Association, in contrast, predicts a 27-percent jump over last year. Which means that someone is going to be wrong, perhaps dramatically.
The AGA expects $1.76 billion to be wagered legally through sportsbooks. Sports betting currently is permitted in 39 states and the District of Columbia. Which means that, in more than 20 percent of the states, there’s still only one way to bet — know a guy, call the guy, and hope you can pay the guy before the guy’s guys show up unexpectedly as you’re pushing a cart of groceries to your SUV.
Mike Vrabel won three Super Bowl rings as a player for the Patriots and is now back in the Super Bowl as the Patriots’ head coach. Patriots quarterback Drake Maye says hearing about Vrabel’s earlier experiences has been exciting for him and his teammates this week.
“He does a great job of relating to us, being able to talk as a player and now as a coach of his experience winning Super Bowls, his experience making the playoffs his first year with the Steelers,” Maye said.
Maye said Vrabel hasn’t been shy about telling the Patriots their goal should be the Super Bowl, from Day One.
“I remember we talked about in the beginning of the season, our stories and what kind of hopes we had. Our hopes were to win the big game and win the Super Bowl, and look where we’re at now, and those hopes are coming to a reality,” Maye said. “That’s one of the coolest things I heard from him this morning, him relaying that to us, what we dreamed of as a little kid, wanting to watch the Super Bowl at a Super Bowl party, and now we’re the party. Coach does a great job of relating to us and relaying a message that hits home to all of us.”
If the Patriots win Super Bowl LX, Vrabel will be the first person ever to win a Super Bowl as both a player and head coach for the same team.
