“Never meet your heroes” is what Drake Maye learned the hard way during his stellar sophomore season with the New England Patriots. Growing up in Charlotte, the young quarterback idolized Cam Newton, watching Superman dominate in a Carolina Panthers uniform. But after enduring constant criticism from him in his second NFL season, Maye did something unexpected ahead of Super Bowl LX.

“I was a big fan of Aaron Rodgers,” Maye said in a recent press conference. “I’ve got a chance to play him a few times and see how he’s treated me. He reached out to me after the game. He’s got so much swag. It’s different when you see him in warmups, throwing the football…I’ve heard from teammates of his and teachers, how he cares about others inside the facility, it’s just special. I’m a big fan of his.”

With this answer, it’s clear that Drake Maye has moved on from Cam Newton. In fact, Maye isn’t the only one, as Rodgers’ Steelers teammates have often spoken about how he enjoys his football and his personality, which perhaps was most evident as he splurged on Christmas gifts for his offense this year. On the flip side, Newton has been fairly critical of Maye in the recent past.

The 2015 NFL MVP had doubted the shot-caller, calling the Patriots “fool’s gold” during an appearance on ESPN’s First Take in November. Newton recently dismissed Maye’s contribution to New England’s AFC title on his 4th&1 podcast.

“They’re not here because of Drake Maye,” Newton claimed. “That’s just facts. Does that make Drake Maye a bad player? No.”

Newton then compared Maye’s playoff run to Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, Rex Grossman, and Jim McMahon as quarterbacks who were carried by an elite defense to the Super Bowl. Newton expressed that Maye is clearly more talented than those quarterbacks. He deemed the second-year sensation was lucky to survive a 10-7 win over the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game.

Cam Newton’s words may sound ruthless, but the numbers give his critique uncomfortable weight. In his first-ever postseason run, Drake Maye has looked far from the composed MVP candidate label attached to him all season.

He has already been sacked 15 times. The warning signs peaked in New England’s win over the Broncos, where Maye finished with double-digit passing yards for the first time all year, a startling low that came after some glaring fumbles against the Texans earlier in the postseason.

“It doesn’t sound good, but when you’re talking about explaining why you say those names and the reasoning behind those names, all of those names combined benefitted off a great defense,” Newton said. “Alone. Did Drake Maye do enough to win a football game? Yes. But I would also say Drake Maye did enough to lose a game he won, too.”

Newton’s assessment of the rest of the squad may have a point. New England boasted one of the league’s best defenses in 2025, ranking fourth in points allowed with 320 total points given up and sixth in rushing yards allowed, surrendering just 1,729 yards on the ground.

However, Drake Maye’s contribution cannot be undermined as the second-year pro has emerged as an MVP candidate with his 4,394 yards, 31 touchdowns, and just eight interceptions in 17 games. The shot-caller turned his rookie 3-14 season on its head this year.

While the noise around him continues to grow, Drake Maye has shifted the focus back to what matters most, offering clarity on his health ahead of Super Bowl Sunday. The Patriots quarterback has broken his silence on his shoulder concerns.

Drake Maye issues an update on his shoulder injury

After the AFC Championship win against the Broncos, Drake Maye was placed on the injury report last week as he picked up an issue in his right shoulder.

The injury is thought to have possibly occurred in the third quarter of the game when safety Talanoa Hufanga tackled him and landed hard on his right shoulder at the end of a 13-yard run. In his recent press conference, Maye revealed the latest update.

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“I feel good. I’ll be just fine,” Maye said. “I threw a good bit. I threw as much as I would at a normal practice. I felt great and looking forward to getting back out there Wednesday and Thursday for practice and Friday to get ready for a normal week of prep.”

With this update, the New England fans can breathe a sigh of relief and will be confident that their Patriots can pull off a repeat of 2015 by beating the Seattle Seahawks once again and bringing home the Lombardi Trophy for the first time since 2019.

A decade removed from their last Super Bowl stage, the hunger in Seattle is unmistakable. Sam Darnold now leads a franchise that once ruled the league under Pete Carroll, peaking with its first and only Lombardi in 2013 and a repeat appearance the following year.