New England Patriots
Maye switched up his pregame handshake with Stefon Diggs ahead of Sunday’s win over the Bengals.
Drake Maye has been upfront about his fandom of both Cam Newton and the Carolina Panthers.
Growing up in North Carolina, the Patriots‘ quarterback has sung the praises of the Panthers’ former franchise quarterback — noting to the media that he even went to Carolina’s last Super Bowl appearance against the Broncos in February 2016.
“I went to the Super Bowl when they lost to Peyton Manning, and that was tough,” Maye said earlier this season. “But yeah, just that season. I think they were 15-1. I was at that NFC Championship game at home, big time win. Just being a fan of Cam [Newton] was probably the biggest memory, him coming out here, doing the airplane and hitting ‘The Cam.’”
Maye even paid tribute to Newton by performing his signature “Superman” celebration after scoring a touchdown against the Panthers earlier this season.
For Maye, giving Newton — who played for New England for one season in 2020 — a shoutout was a no-brainer in that Week 4 victory.
“Right when I saw those jerseys, it reminded me of Cam, just the energy he brought,” Maye said after that win over Carolina. “I don’t show much emotion out there, probably need to show more. Times when I do, yeah — it’s a fun loving position.
“I think he played the position in a different way than a lot of people do, and the guys around him rallied around him. I had another one late, I think in the third or fourth, I had a safety one-on-one. I know Cam probably would have [taken] him on and tried to score. Yeah, I got to meet him through the process. I’m a big fan. He was my favorite player growing up, so pretty cool.”
But after Newton and several other ESPN personalities have doled out plenty of criticism toward Maye and the Patriots in recent weeks, the days of the “Superman” celebration might be a thing of the past.
During a pregame video posted by the Patriots ahead of their eventual 26-20 win over the Bengals on Sunday, Maye was spotted doing an extended handshake with wide receiver Stefon Diggs. After Diggs mimicked the “Superman”, Maye shook his head and didn’t repeat it.
Newton has been critical of Maye’s standing as a legitimate franchise QB throughout this season, with the former league MVP brushing aside Damien Woody’s comments last month after the ex-Patriots offensive lineman said that Maye was playing like a “leading-five” quarterback.
Last week, Newton also deemed the 2025 Patriots as “fool’s gold” when asked about New England’s 9-2 start to the season.
Maye himself dismissed those comments during his interview on WEEI Monday, saying that he wasn’t sure which show Newton was on.
That seemingly sparked another feud fueled by ESPN, as Stephen A. Smith deemed Maye a “liar” for not knowing which show Newton was on — although the ESPN pundit later apologized for his comments over the weekend.
Newton did double down on his initial comments about the Patriots on Thursday.
“I did say the Patriots are fool’s gold, and I’m gonna stand on that,” Newton said on ESPN’s “First Take”. “I was referring to the fact that it was a question that was asked, ‘Does the AFC immediately go through the Patriots, or New England?’ I said, ‘fool’s gold.’ Why did I say fool’s gold? Because there’s not a soul in this beautiful gymnasium that will say they will take Drake Maye over a wild card winner in Patrick Mahomes, in Lamar Jackson.”
“Drake Maye – respectfully, you’re having a great season. But I also put Drake Maye in a position where it’s like — we don’t really know, similar to [Daniel] Jones.”
Sign up for the Today newsletter
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
About the Author
