As the New England Patriots returned to the practice fields on Wednesday, so did Drake Maye for a 30-minute window.
The starting quarterback was officially among 13 limited participants as work on the Tennessee Titans got underway. He stands in the third phase of the NFL’s concussion protocol after a scrambling, sliding helmet-to-helmet hit resulted in him being downgraded to out at halftime last weekend against the New York Jets.
Team captain Jacoby Brissett completed 15-of-24 passes for 132 yards in the rookie’s absence on the way to earning a win and a game ball.
“There are people are a lot smarter than me as far as clearing people with concussions, and we’ll lean on our medical professionals and also the NFL league policy as far as getting him ready to play,” head coach Jerod Mayo told reporters. “I do have confidence that if the league says he’s ready to play, he will be able to go out there and operate. In saying that, I feel very comfortable putting Jacoby in there, as he is a professional and always stays ready, as you could see from the last game.”
Here’s the first injury report leading up to Sunday’s 1 p.m. ET kickoff at Nissan Stadium.
DID NOT PARTICIPATE
Patriots
- OT Vederian Lowe (ankle, shoulder)
- DT Jaquelin Roy (neck)
- LB Christian Elliss (abdomen)
Titans
- RB Tony Pollard (foot)
- WR Calvin Ridley (shoulder)
- WR Tyler Boyd (shoulder)
- OT Andrew Rupcich (triceps)
- G Dillon Radunz (foot)
- DT Jeffery Simmons (veteran rest)
- DT T’Vondre Sweat (hip)
- CB L’Jarius Sneed (quad)
- S Amani Hooker (groin)
A trio of October starters missed Wednesday’s practice in Foxborough. Lowe recently returned to the blindside after being sidelined by an ankle injury. He played all 67 offensive snaps during what became a 25-22 win and is now dealing with a shoulder injury. Roy and Elliss also sat out the initial session of the week. The latter led the defense with nine tackles during his most recent appearance, adding one sack and one pass deflection.
LIMITED PARTICIPATION
Patriots
- QB Drake Maye (concussion)
- RB Antonio Gibson (toe)
- WR Ja’Lynn Polk (concussion)
- G Michael Jordan (ankle)
- G Layden Robinson (ankle)
- DT Daniel Ekuale (abdomen)
- DE Keion White (knee)
- LB Jahlani Tavai (back)
- LB Sione Takitaki (knee)
- CB Jonathan Jones (shoulder)
- CB Alex Austin (ankle — IR return)
- S Kyle Dugger (ankle)
- S Marte Mapu (neck)
Titans
- QB Will Levis (right shoulder)
- RB Tyjae Spears (hamstring)
- CB Tre Avery (hamstring)
In addition to the No. 3 overall pick out of North Carolina, fellow rookies in Polk and Robinson also made their way back on Wednesday. Due to a concussion and an ankle injury, respectively, both had been ruled out ahead of the AFC East rematch at Gillette Stadium after staying sidelined throughout last week’s practices. Also limited were veterans Ekuale and Dugger, who went from questionable to inactive 90 minutes prior to kickoff last Sunday. And at cornerback, the Patriots started the 21-day clock for Austin to be activated from injured reserve.
