FOXBORO -- It certainly qualifies as news any time a starting quarterback pops up on an injury report. Particularly when said quarterback is the crown jewel of a franchise, carrying the present and future hopes of an organization on his shoulders.
So, it is of course noteworthy that Drake Maye ended up on the Patriots injury report with a knee issue on Wednesday. His knee did not limit his time on the field, though, as he was listed as a full participant in the practice.
The team maintains that it is not fretting for its 22-year-old passer. Multiple sources familiar with the situation indicated late Wednesday night that they were not worried about Maye's knee, and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt echoed similar thoughts on Thursday morning.
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"Not concerned," Van Pelt said. "That's for the head coach and trainers. But he looked good to me yesterday as he worked."
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Maye is expected to be able to start against the Jaguars in London, though Van Pelt acknowledged he would wait to see how Maye looked in practice over the course of the next few days before determining what would and would not be available to him on his offensive call sheet.
Van Pelt didn't dial up a single designed quarterback run for Maye in his first start against the Texans last week, but Maye scrambled five times for 38 yards, and he averaged 8.5 yards per play -- both via scrambles and scramble-drill throws -- when working off-script against Houston.
Asked if Maye could "unlock" certain aspects of Van Pelt's offense because of his mobility, Van Pelt didn't hesitate.
"Absolutely," he said. "When you have a quarterback that's young and mobile, you can use him in some different ways. For sure."
But time will tell if all of those different schematic avenues will be accessible for Van Pelt when considering the health of his young signal-caller this weekend. Roll-outs, sprint-outs and zone-read plays -- never mind the unscripted runs that help make Maye dangerous -- potentially could hit the cutting-room floor if Maye's knee bothers him late into the week.
The Patriots practice on Thursday at Gillette Stadium and Friday in London prior to their game against the Jaguars.
"We'll see as we go through the course of the week," Van Pelt said when asked if he'd have to adjust his calls based on Maye's knee. "But, right now, I think it's probably precautionary. I think he feels good about where he is right now."