Maye says he's healthy and ready to play Super Bowl

VIDEO SHOWS: SOUNDBITES FROM NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL AND QUARTERBACK DRAKE MAYE, SEATTLE SEAHAWKS HEAD COACH MIKE MCDONALD AND QUARTERBACK SAM DARNOLD SHOWS: SANTA CLARA, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 5, 2026) (NFL NETWORK – Editorial use only. Must courtesy 'NFL Network'. No resales. No monetisation.) 1. NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL SPEAKING AT SUPER BOWL DAILY MEDIA AVAILABILITY AT TEAM HOTEL 2. (SOUNDBITE)(English) PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL AFTER BEING ASKED HOW HE'S EVOLVED AS A COACH AFTER BEING FIRED AS TITANS HEAD COACH, SAYING:  “I just wanted to win more than what we did. That usually helps. I mean, the biggest thing that I learned is that I wanted nothing more than to be a head coach again and just understand how important the connections are with the players and not losing sight of that, even as a head coach. When I was in my role in Cleveland, which I'm so grateful for, I had a lot of time to spend with assistant coaches. I had a lot of time to spend with players, with young players, with developmental players on Mondays and Tuesdays. My office wasn't upstairs where the coaching staff was or where the personnel department was. It was downstairs with the players in the training room and the weight room. So, I kind of got back to the basics of just what this game is about and making connections, and it's about the people and getting the players to find ways to improve, and to develop them and give them confidence. So, maybe it wasn't something that I wanted to do differently, but it was just an affirmation of this is what's important." 3. PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK DRAKE MAYE SPEAKING AT MEDIA AVAILABILITY 4. (SOUNDBITE)(English) PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK DRAKE MAYE AFTER BEING ASKED IF THERE WAS ONE POINT WHERE HE REALIZED PATRIOTS COULD GO TO SUPER BOWL, SAYING: "I think it's hard to maybe pinpoint one exact point. I know probably the win on the road at Buffalo was huge for us. I think just finding a way to win that game against a tough opponent on the road, a team that's been historically great in playoffs, had a home game win streak and being able to win there. But really other than that, I think just the continued success on the road has been huge for us. Continued success on the road and trying to find a way to do it one more time here.” 5. WHITE FLASH 6. (SOUNDBITE)(English) PATRIOTS QUARTERBACK DRAKE MAYE AFTER BEING ASKED HOW HE IS FEELING AND HOW EXCITED IS HE TO PLAY IN SUPER BOWL, SAYING: “Yeah, I'm really excited. A chance to play in this game is a dream come true and what you work for all year long. Like I said, I'm not trying to lie to you guys. I'm saying I'm feeling great. I'm feeling great and looking forward to getting out there today. Another day of practice, got one tomorrow and feeling pretty good.” SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 5, 2026) (NFL NETWORK – Editorial use only. Must courtesy 'NFL Network'. No resales. No monetisation.) 7. SEATTLE SEAHAWKS HEAD COACH MIKE MCDONALD SPEAKING AT SUPER BOWL DAILY MEDIA AVAILABILITY AT SAN JOSE CONVENTION CENTER 8. (SOUNDBITE)(English) SEAHAWKS HEAD COACH MIKE MCDONALD AFTER BEING ASKED IF PLAYERS FROM 2014 SEAHAWKS SUPER BOWL WINNING TEAM STOPS BY TEAM FACILITY TO HELP CURRENT PLAYERS, SAYING: "Look, I think we came in with the mentality of, hey, like this is an awesome organization with a really cool history, especially on defense. A lot of the players have, still spend a lot of time in Seattle so we wanted to take advantage of that opportunity to have those people around. I think a Sherm (Richard Sherman) coming to talk to our team this offseason about playing at home, playing at Lumen, making that place come alive and I think that really resonated with our players. There's so many other more examples, and they (former Seahawks players)  know this but, officially on the record they're always, doors are always open all the time to these guys and they're around all the time, it's just a blast, I mean look you grew up, you're a fan of these people growing up, especially me so to have them want to be a, play a role on our football team, is pretty awesome." 9. SEAHAWKS QUARTERBACK SAM DARNOLD SPEAKING AT MEDIA AVAILABILITY 10. (SOUNDBITE)(English) SEAHAWKS QUARTERBACK SAM DARNOLD AFTER BEING ASKED FOR HIS THOUGHTS ON SUPER BOWL WEEK, SAYING: "General thoughts? It's been great man. Just the, again, I think there were quite a few players that shared the consensus like it kind of feels like training camp again. Like we're all here in the hotel. We're able to just hang out and spend a bunch of time together where I feel like during the week, during the course of a normal week that doesn't necessarily happen. Yeah, we're hanging out with each other in the locker room from whenever, 6:30 in the morning to 6 at night but to be able to actually like, you know, eat some snack together, little things like that that you don't get to do during the course of a season so it's great to be with the guys again, bussing to the practice facility, spending time in that locker room, bussing back. So i think it's just enjoying this moment is such a key for myself but a lot of guys in that locker I know they feel the same way." STORY: The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks, two teams that started the season as massive underdogs to win the Super Bowl, will square off on Sunday in one of the more unlikely championship matchups in NFL history. The Patriots and Seahawks have defied all expectations to reach the big game in Santa Clara, California, setting up a rematch of their thrilling encounter from 11 years ago when Patriots rookie Malcolm Butler intercepted a pass at the goal line with 20 seconds left to secure a 28-24 victory. Both teams began the season with 60-1 or worse odds to win the Super Bowl, making their championship game appearance one of the most stunning turnarounds in recent NFL history. The Patriots' journey has been nothing short of remarkable. After two consecutive four-win campaigns, they stormed to a 14-3 record this season in a worst-to-first turnaround that secured the AFC East title. Their perfect 9-0 road record has been a cornerstone of their success, marking their first Super Bowl appearance since the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era that produced six championships from 2000-2019. Leading the charge is the dynamic duo of first-year head coach Mike Vrabel and second-year quarterback Drake Maye. Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls with the Patriots as a player, has pushed all the right buttons this season while guiding Maye and the NFL's second-ranked scoring offense. Maye, at 23 years and 162 days old, can become the youngest starting quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl, though he has struggled to maintain his regular-season form during the playoffs. Victory would make Vrabel the fifth person in NFL history to win the Super Bowl as both a player and head coach, joining Hall of Famers Mike Ditka, Tony Dungy and Tom Flores as well as Doug Pederson. For New England, it would be a record seventh championship in their 12th Super Bowl appearance. Seattle arrives riding a nine-game winning streak and exuding confidence that few can match this late in the season. Their unlikely hero is quarterback Sam Darnold, whose winding path to this moment reads like a Hollywood script. The third pick of the 2018 NFL Draft bounced around the league before joining the Seahawks last March, transforming from playoff disappointment to NFC champion in just one season. Darnold's redemption story reached its crescendo in the NFC Championship game, where he threw for 346 yards and three touchdowns on the biggest stage he had ever played. A victory on Sunday would see him join Tom Brady, Trent Dilfer and Matthew Stafford as the only quarterbacks to win the Super Bowl in their first season with a team. (Production: David Grip)

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