SAN FRANCISCO — Mike Vrabel saw the potential greatness in quarterback Drake Maye long before he was hired by New England to lead its franchise.
Maye’s top target, Stefon Diggs, was a bit behind on that.
Vrabel, in fact, revealed Wednesday that having Maye on the roster had a big influence on him wanting the New England head coaching job.
“I probably realized that before I got here,” Vrabel said of Maye’s potential. “That’s a large part of the reason that I wanted to be here. Everybody has a different skill set, and he’s comfortable in the pocket, [but] his ability to transfer up into the pocket to make moves, to make throws off platform and different angles, has been impressive.”
Diggs, who joined the Patriots this season after playing last year in Houston, said he “really didn’t know too much about” Maye “other than we played him earlier in the year when I was in Houston.”
“It was crazy, he got like a mini standing ovation when he went out,” Diggs recalled. “It was one of his first games going in. He showed a lot of promise. He made some throws. He was running around. I clearly remember a ball he threw [to receiver] Kayshon Boutte in the back corner to the right, a touchdown. I was like, ‘He can spin it a little bit. ”
Diggs said Maye’s “maturation process is second to none — one of the best I’ve ever seen from a quarterback position. To be that young, be that mature and be able to play at a high level is something that I always wanted when I was a young player. So I call him like a mini inspiration.”
Shirtless wonder
When the Seahawks and Patriots warm up for Super Bowl LX, there’ll be at least one Seattle player not wearing a shirt or a jersey — regardless of the weather.
This has been a ritual for Seattle special teams ace Brady Russell dating back to high school in Colorado.
“Yeah, it is different,” Russell said. “But I like being in the weather, feeling it.”
More than being known as the guy who warms up without a shirt, Russell has been one of the best players on a Seattle special teams unit that has produced five touchdowns this season.
Russell plays on all four core special teams units — kickoff return and coverage, punt return and coverage, as well as on the field goal/PAT team.
Russell, who was signed off the Eagles practice squad in 2023, was named as a captain for the game last week, along with receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba for offense and cornerback Devon Witherspoon for defense.
“Guys follow his lead,” Seahawks head coach Mike Macdonald said.
“We have a lot of leaders in the room, but I think every time Brady speaks, people listen,” Seattle safety Julian Love said.
Ex-Jet moves closer to playing
The Seahawks are hoping to get another one of their top special teams contributors back for the Super Bowl in former Jets reserve linebacker Chazz Surratt.
He was activated from injured reserve Tuesday after he missed more than two months with an ankle injury.
Though Surratt played just seven snaps on defense during the regular season, he had 181 snaps on special teams before his injury.
Ain’t that a kick
Vrabel on Wednesday professed confidence in his kicker and punter tandem of rookie kicker Andy Borregales and third-year punter Bryce Baringer.
“Every kick isn’t going to be made, but when we’ve needed Andy, he’s really settled in,” Vrabel said. “And Bryce has been pretty much the veteran of the group that’s kind of handled those guys. We’ve made big kicks when we’ve had to. So, those will be critical. If this game comes down to a field goal, I’m confident those guys will execute.”
Borregales was 27-for-32 on field goal attempts in the regular season with a long of 59 yards. He’s 4-for-6 in three playoff games, but one of the misses was a 63-yarder at the end of the first half of the AFC Championship game.
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