Patriots rookie quarterback Drake Maye is headed to the Pro Bowl as an alternate.
Maye is the replacement for Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson, who opted out. He will join Cincinnati’s Joe Burrow and Pittsburgh’s Russell Wilson (replacement for Buffalo’s Josh Allen) as the AFC quarterbacks.
Despite the Patriots difficult 4-13 season, Maye’s play was one of the bright spots of the campaign. In his 13 games of action, he completed 225 of 338 passes for 2,276 yards, with 15 touchdowns against 10 interceptions — earning an 88.1 quarterback rating for the season. He also ran 54 times for 421 yards, a 7.8 average, with two more scores.
Maye led Jerod Mayo’s team to two of its four wins, against the Jets and the Bears. His best game came in the 32-16 loss to the Jaguars on Oct. 20, hitting on 26 of 37 passes for 276 yards and two TDs (16 yards to JaMycal Hasty, and 22 yards to K.J. Osborn), for a 109.7 QB rating.
Special teamer Brenden Schooler was New England’s lone other Pro Bowl selection, but he opted out because of offseason surgery.
The Pro Bowl festivities will be split over two days with an eight-event skills challenge taking place Thursday and a seven-on-seven flag football game on Sunday. The events include precision passing, relay race, dodgeball, and tug of war.
