FOXBOROUGH — Mike Vrabel said Friday the team added quarterback Drake Maye to the injury report in order to comply with NFL rules.
“We’re just trying to follow the protocol exactly how it’s given to us, as it relates to the injury report,” the Patriots coach said. “The fact that it’s a quarterback, I think those things get looked at very closely. Again, we want to make sure we’re transparent, so we listed him on the injury report after he went through the normal game-day protocol postgame.”
The status of Maye’s shoulder has come under scrutiny this week, in the wake of his vague comments following last Sunday’s blowout loss against the Jaguars.
Vrabel, who initially said on Monday that Maye was not dealing with anything, said on Friday that listing Maye on the injury report was the result of something that happened in Sunday’s game, reiterating what offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said on Thursday.
“I think that was something that came out of the football game,” Vrabel said. “Like normal, I would say, football procedures. Guys go through the game, much like [Christian Gonzalez] or somebody else that comes in sometimes Monday or even Tuesday, for that matter, and says, ‘Hey, thought this was something. Can you take a look at it?’ ”
The Patriots listed Maye as a full participant for all three days of practice, which means he took his usual workload and did not miss any reps. McDaniels previously said the injury is not significant enough to affect his play-calling in practices and games.
“There were no limitations,” Vrabel said. “But we just felt like it was best to list it, just to make sure we’re doing everything we’re supposed to do from a protocol standpoint.”
Asked if Maye is receiving treatment for the injury, Vrabel didn’t answer definitively.
“I’m sure that he was in the training room, but I’m not really sure,” he said. “Again, if he’s on the injury report, I’m sure that at some point in time he got treatment.”
Asked about his shoulder on Wednesday afternoon, prior to the injury report’s release, Maye said it is not affecting his ability to throw the football — nor is it affecting his decision-making. He has not spoken to the media since getting added to the injury report.
The Patriots listed 10 other players on the report. Maye was the only one without a game-day designation. The team ruled out cornerback Christian Gonzalez (shoulder) and defensive tackle Christian Barmore (shoulder), and listed seven other players — cornerback Channing Canada (hamstring), linebacker Christian Elliss (chest), fullback Reggie Gilliam (knee), edge rusher Dre’Mont Jones (shoulder), right tackle Morgan Moses (foot), tight end Eli Raridon (thigh), and safety Craig Woodson (shoulder) — as questionable.
Safety Brenden Schooler (back), who opened the season on the non-football injury list, returned to practice this week as a limited participant but is not eligible to be activated to the 53-man roster until next week.
The Patriots already are without star wide receiver A.J. Brown (ankle), starting right guard Michael Onwenu (ankle), and backup right guard Greg Van Roten (thigh).
Asked about the barrage of injuries, Vrabel seemed to chalk it up to bad luck.
“We want to avoid soft-tissue injuries, but sometimes there are some injuries that happen through the course of playing,” Vrabel said. “Not sure how we could have prevented Michael’s right ankle from getting rolled up on by two players or Dre’Mont Jones’s shoulder getting smashed into the turf by the offensive lineman.”
Nicole Yang can be reached at nicole.yang@globe.com. Follow her on X @nicolecyang.