Drake Maye used a press conference in Munich to fire back at reporters Thursday, after a question about Rhamondre Stevenson set him off. The New England Patriots quarterback said the media did not really know what it was talking about, turning a routine availability into a pointed defense of a teammate.
The exchange came as the Patriots settled into Germany ahead of Sunday’s game against the Detroit Lions. Maye was asked about Stevenson being around practice and working off to the side, and he responded that the reporting around the running back’s status was off base.
That reaction landed because Stevenson’s situation has been the subject of mixed signals. A local Boston outlet reported that he was expected to miss multiple weeks with a plantaris tendon injury behind one of his knees, and said he was hurt in Sunday’s blowout loss to the Green Bay Packers. Maye did not directly address the timetable, but he made clear he believed Stevenson wanted to be back on the field and part of the team’s push before the bye.
“He’s a guy that wants to be out there, you know, wants to be back for his team and that’s what we’re in the midst of trying to make a run here and win a big one before the bye,” Maye said. “So this is a time for players, a lot of the players on this team that are trying to get out there, play with teammates and knowing that he’s a great player, help us out.”
The exchange also fit a wider pattern around a Patriots team that has drawn plenty of negative attention this year. Maye is in only his third NFL season and is coming off an inconsistent stretch after last year’s trip to the Super Bowl, so even a standard injury question can carry extra weight when the team is trying to steady itself far from home. He also spent part of the session talking about FIFA and said Harry Kane’s experience under pressure could help him become an NFL kicker.
For now, the only certainty is that the Patriots are in Munich and Stevenson’s availability remains unresolved. If he is on the field Sunday, Maye’s sharp response will read like a public defense of a teammate; if he is not, it will sit next to a report that suggested the setback was serious enough to keep him out for weeks.
