Hunter Henry takes QB reps during practice while Maye’s status was unclear and originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
Hunter Henry was the New England Patriots’ most productive pass catcher this season. But he showed off some other skills during Wednesday’s practice.
The veteran tight end was spotted throwing passes while briefly working with quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett and Joe Milton during the portion of practice open to the media outside Gillette Stadium. Henry followed Milton and took at least two snaps under center from an assistant coach before throwing to stationary receivers.
The Patriots are down a quarterback with rookie Drake Maye still in the NFL’s concussion protocol after suffering a head injury in Sunday’s win over the New York Jets. While head coach Jerod Mayo said Maye would only be a limited participant in Wednesday’s practice, the rookie was only able to practice for a maximum of 30 minutes and was not spotted during the portion of the practice open to the media.
No Drake Maye sighting at practice during the media availability portion means the Patriots will likely wait until a little later in the session for his 30-minute eligibility period to begin.
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) October 30, 2024
It is possible that Henry merely served as a placeholder for Maye; Brissett and Milton are the only other quarterbacks on the Patriots’ roster, as the team does not have a QB on the practice squad. If Maye can pass the concussion protocol before Sunday, he’ll likely get the start, with Brissett as the backup and Milton as the emergency third-string QB.
Like Maye not On Sunday, however, Brissett would be the starter and Milton the only backup. If both Brissett and Milton get hurt, the Patriots will need a position player to play QB since they don’t have a third quarterback on their roster to designate as their “emergency QB.” (More about the NFL’s emergency QB rule here.)
Whether Henry — who has never attempted an NFL pass and hasn’t played QB at any level, including high school — would be New England’s “break glass in case of emergency” quarterback in that scenario remains to be seen. But with Henry doing his best QB impression in Wednesday’s practice, he appears to be the leading candidate to go under center if Brissett and Milton both go down.
It’s safe to say the Patriots are hoping this scenario doesn’t play out anywhere near when they visit the Tennessee Titans on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.
