New England Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye's status for Sunday's Week 9 game against the Tennessee Titans remains uncertain after he suffered a concussion in last week's win over the New York Jets and had to leave in the second quarter.
The good news for Maye is that he returned to practice in a limited capacity Wednesday. But he still needs to go through the NFL's concussion protocol before he can be cleared for game action.
What is that process like? Former Patriots quarterback Brian Hoyer shared his experience with concussions during Wednesday night's edition of The Gameplan on NBC Sports Boston.
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"It's a case by case basis," Hoyer said. "I think each one, each of my concussions was different, and each way I responded in those times was different. So I think the fact that he's out there -- I know Jerod said he's gonna throw for about 30 minutes. That's a good sign because that means he's at, I think, Phase 3 in that protocol.
"It is a pretty exhaustive protocol, and it's there to kind of protect you from yourself, because there's times where you're gonna say, 'You know, I feel pretty good.' But you've gotta go through these different phases. And so Phase 3 football-specific exercise, that's gonna be allowing him to throw the football. Obviously, the quarterback position is a little bit better because you don't need to go out there and make contact with anybody anyways (in practice)."
One of the last steps to being cleared to play is meeting with an independent medical professional and going through a variety of tests.
"There's ones where you gotta go like this, close your eyes, make sure you don't move, get up on one leg," Hoyer said. "And this is not only with the team staff but with this independent neuropsychologist. You're meeting with a lot of people, and on top of that and somewhere in there you're gonna have to -- there's a baseline test on a computer that you take, you're gonna have to get at least that base, if not better."
Hoyer also explained the importance of not going back on the field until you're fully ready.
"You've gotta protect yourself because there's times when you're gonna feel good, but also you wanna get back out there. One thing that I learned in Houston was, the worst thing you can get is concussions in back-to-back weeks, because those start to really build up," Hoyer said.
"Like (head coach) Jerod (Mayo) said, they're gonna lean on the league, they're gonna do what's best for (Maye) and basically leave it up to the professionals in the end, which is nice because it's kind of out of your hands."
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Maye isn't afraid to escape the pocket and run with the football. It's one of his strengths, evidenced by his 17-yard touchdown run against the Jets before he suffered the concussion. He's a very athletic quarterback, and that mobility causes problems for opposing defenses.
With that said, whenever Maye is ready to play again, whether that's Sunday or sometime later in the season, does he need to play differently to avoid taking hard hits? Do the Patriots need to use him differently?
"He was trying to protect himself, he was sliding. It should have been a penalty," Hoyer said. "I think if you have any hesitation about limiting him and saying, hey Drake, maybe don't run as much -- you can't tell a player to go out there and play that way. So if you have any inclination to say, hey, you need to play differently, then it's not time for him to go back out there."
The Patriots will start Jacoby Brissett if Maye isn't ready to play Sunday in Tennessee. Brissett started the first five games of the season, and he helped lead the Patriots to a comeback win against the Jets last week after Maye exited. Rookie quarterback Joe Milton would be the backup if Brissett starts.