FOXBORO — The New England Patriots got a day off from practice on Tuesday, but many of them put in some work on a different playing field — or court. That included rookie quarterback Drake Maye showing off his dodgeball skills at a local school.
The full Patriots roster (along with coaches and staff members) split into four different groups and participated in community events around Massachusetts on Tuesday, which included some Field Day fun at two local schools.
Maye was among the group of Patriots at the Perkins Community Center/Lee School in Dorchester — along with head coach Jerod Mayo, center David Andrews, rookie receiver Ja’Lynn Polk, and safety Kyle Dugger, among others — and got into it during the dodgeball segment of the afternoon.
“As a coach, I just thought we all should go out and do something together. It’s been great. I learned that when I was drafted here in 2008. Myra, Robert – they were always pushing us to get out in the community and use our platform,” Mayo said.
The group joined forces with kids and worked together during two fun, but competitive, games of dodgeball.
“They handled it pretty well cause guys were humming those balls pretty good,” Andrews said.
Another group of Patriots also had fun at the Lila Fredericks Middle School in Boston, participating in that school’s Field Day activities. A group also went to Elevated Thought in Lawrence — an art and social justice organization that develops spaces for youth and communities to engage with to understand creativity’s liberating power — and to Meryl’s Safe Haven in Worcester, an emergency assistance shelter committed to helping young people transition on a path to self-sustainability.
“When guys who I looked up to – or in a position to be looked up to – came around, it had a tremendous impact on me … motivated me and just made me want to go a little harder to reach those heights they reached. Hopefully, I did the same here for these kids,” said safety Jabrill Peppers.
The Patriots will hold one more practice of mandatory minicamp outside Gillette Stadium on Wednesday, which will wrap up the team’s offseason program. The Patriots will next take the field for training camp at the end of July.
