Drake Maye listed on Patriots' first injury report ahead of Super Bowl LX

In the days since the Patriots beat the Broncos on the road in the AFC Championship game and punched their ticket to Super Bowl LX, rumors have swirled about a potential injury that quarterback Drake Maye is now, or has been, dealing with.

Neither Maye nor Mike Vrabel elaborated when asked by reporters about the alleged shoulder injury, which didn't help the conversation die down.

But now the team has released their first injury report ahead of Super Bowl LX, and lo and behold, Maye is listed as a limited participant in what would have been their first practice of the week with a right shoulder injury.

This is certainly not the news anyone was hoping for less than two weeks before they're competing for a Lombardi Trophy.

Fortunately, Maye will have a decent amount of time to rest up and hopefully, whatever he's dealing with will be fine by the time the Super Bowl is here.

It's no surprise that the Patriots are dealing with several injuries before the Super Bowl

At this point in any NFL season, if a team is lucky enough to be competing in the Super Bowl, the entire team is going to be banged up, even their starting quarterback.

In that regard, it's unsurprising that Maye has appeared on the injury report, even if it is the first time this season.

The problem is the timing of the injury and how that might affect his performance in the Super Bowl or even at practice leading to the big game. There wasn't a noticeable decline in the game against the Broncos that would make anyone think he was dealing with shoulder pain, so that's a good sign.

But at the same time, the severity of the injury is unknown, and we probably won't get a legitimate update because that's just how teams operate going into a Championship game.

Hopefully, it's nothing major, and Maye will be able to function as normally as possible, and it won't become a factor when the Super Bowl arrives. Otherwise, the Patriots could be in a lot of trouble.