Will Drake Maye’s knee injury impact the Patriots’ game decisions against the Jaguars? – NBC Sports Boston

FOXBORO — It’s certainly news when a starting quarterback appears on an injury report. Especially when that quarterback is the crown jewel of a franchise and carries the current and future hopes of an organization on his shoulders.

So, of course, it’s notable that Drake Maye landed on the Patriots’ injury report on Wednesday with a knee issue. However, his knee did not limit his time on the field as he was listed as a full participant in training.

The team claims it is not worried about its 22-year-old passer. Multiple sources familiar with the situation said late Wednesday night that they were not worried about Maye’s knee, and offensive coordinator Alex Van Pelt expressed similar thoughts Thursday morning.

“Don’t worry,” Van Pelt said. “That’s up to the head coach and the coaches. But he looked good to me at work yesterday.”

Maye is expected to start against the Jaguars in London, although Van Pelt admitted he would wait to see how Maye looked in practice over the next few days before determining what would and would not be available to him in his offense Call sheet.

Van Pelt didn’t score a single designed quarterback run for Maye in his first start against the Texans last week, but Maye rushed for 38 yards five times and averaged 8.5 yards per play on both scrambles and scramble drills. Throws – when he works off-script against Houston.

When 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 young and agile quarterback, you can use him in different ways. In any case.”

But time will tell whether Van Pelt will consider all of these different schematic paths as he considers his young signal-caller’s health this weekend. Roll outs, sprint outs and zone read plays — not to mention the unplanned runs that make Maye dangerous — could potentially hit the cutting room floor if Maye’s knee bothers him late into the week.

The Patriots practice at Gillette Stadium on Thursday and in London on Friday before their game against the Jaguars.

“We’ll see as the week goes on,” Van Pelt said when asked about adjusting his decisions to accommodate Maye’s knee. “But right now I think it’s probably a precautionary measure. I think he feels good where he is right now.”