FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — Drake Maye isn’t exactly measuring himself against Jayden Daniels.
But the New England Patriots quarterback is keeping tabs on what his Washington Commanders’ counterpart — and others from their draft class — are up to heading into their second NFL seasons.
Maye and Daniels were on the field together Wednesday for a joint practice between the teams in advance of their exhibition game on Friday. For Maye it was a reminder of the potential and expectations they both carry.
“I saw him out there. I congratulated him. What a year he had,” Maye said. “I think there’s always in the back of your mind the draft class you came in with, and anytime you play him, especially, it’s a little different. … I think I’m just trying to worry about myself, but at the end of the day, keep up with those guys. Those guys are — him and Caleb (Williams) and Bo (Nix), those guys are good friends of mine, and they’re friends until we play each other.”
Friday’s game won’t count in the standings and the Commanders will be approaching it as such with Washington coach Dan Quinn announcing before practice that Daniels will not play in the exhibition.
With backup Marcus Mariota also nursing a lower leg strain, quarterbacks Josh Johnson and Sam Hartman will handle the offense for Washington.
Receiver Terry McLaurin, who is on the physically unable to perform list with an ankle injury in addition to “holding in” as contract talks continue, was among the Commanders players that didn’t make the trip.
But Maye is expected to see action, with first-year Patriots coach Mike Vrabel saying that all healthy players would receive at least some playing time.
High intensity
While there was no tackling allowed during Wednesday’s session, it didn’t stop tempers from flaring during a pair of scuffles.
The first featured just minor shoving between linemen. But the second, after Patriots rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson got tangled up with a Commanders defender, caused players from both sidelines to rush the field as even Vrabel jumped into the ensuing scrum.
“That’s just how the game goes. Two teams with very competitive coaches, and players are representative of their coach,” Commanders cornerback Mike Sainristil said. “We’re out there competing and they’re competing. But just being able to de-escalate situations before they get worse is very professional. Sometimes things happen. Guys start chirping. It’s the game of football.”
Maye liked the fire his teammates showed during the exchanges.
“That’s what we’re trying to build, I think, and it starts with the coach. The intensity, bringing it every day, taking no (nonsense) when we’re out there on the field,” he said. “But also, it comes to a time where, with our guys offensively, and getting over there and getting some tussles, and kind of having some penalties, and extra after the whistle can get us in trouble. But for mentality, I like it. I think that’s what you want. I mean, I almost got in there, but I think maybe another day, maybe. We’ll see.”
Highlights
Between the pushing and shoving, both teams also had some highlight plays in front of a packed house of VIP onlookers that included Celtics star Jayson Tatum and rock star Jon Bon Jovi.
Maye spread the ball around for multiple TD passes during some red zone situations.
Washington’s defense also got the best of Maye late in practice when his pass to receiver DeMario Douglas was tipped by Commanders linebacker Bobby Wagner and intercepted by Sainristil.
But Maye said he was pleased with the day overall.
“Anything is positive when you’re moving the ball,” Maye said. “It looked like some football out there against a different team. Felt good to get our operations done against somebody else. We did some no-huddle that I thought went well. So it’s good for us to learn from it, watch it and kind of just build off of it.”