After battling through a shoulder injury that required pain-management injections ahead of Super Bowl LX, New England Patriots quarterback Drake Maye told reporters Tuesday that he won’t need offseason surgery to address the issue.

“Time is the best healer,” Maye said. “Just need time off. Nothing that needs anything to be done. Just need time to rest and time away from football.”

Maye, 23, became the second-youngest quarterback to lead his team to a Super Bowl, just 35 days older than Dan Marino. He underwhelmed in New England’s 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks, throwing for 295 yards — most of which came in the fourth quarter when his team was down multiple scores — and two touchdowns but also throwing two interceptions and fumbling once.

He finished the first half with just 48 passing yards.

It was a sour ending to a breakout season for the No. 3 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Maye finished second in MVP voting, receiving 23 first-place votes while Rams QB Matthew Stafford claimed 24 to narrowly win.

Maye led New England to a 14-3 record in the regular season.

Even the disappointing end didn’t deter Maye as the team begins to turn the page to 2026.

“Ten weeks until we’re back here,” Maye said. “That don’t sound too far away. It turns around quickly on you. I’m looking forward to it.”

–Field Level Media

Former New York Giants head coach Ray Handley, who was an assistant coach during two of the team’s Super Bowl titles, died at 81.

The Giants announced Handley’s death on Monday, citing nephew Rob Handley. A cause of death was not disclosed.

He died last week.

Ray Handley joined the Giants in 1984 as an offensive backfield coach under Bill Parcells. He spent seven seasons in that role before being named the head coach by general manager George Young after Parcells initially retired following Super Bowl XXV in 1991.

Handley received the nod after defensive coordinator Bill Belichick left to become the head coach of the Cleveland Browns and receivers coach Tom Coughlin departed to become the head coach at Boston College.

Handley posted a 14-18 record during his two seasons at the helm before being replaced after the 1992 campaign by Dan Reeves.

“He was a very astute mathematician,” Parcells told the New York Post on Monday. “He always assisted me in my clock management, particularly late in the games. He was on top of figuring out how many potential plays an opponent had left, or how many we had left. He always factored in the timeouts and was a good reference on the field under pressure in that regard.”

Handley served as a graduate assistant with his alma mater, Stanford, in 1967 and an assistant coach at Army (1968-69), Stanford again (1971-74, 1979-83) and Air Force (1975-78) before joining the Giants.

–Field Level Media

The Atlanta Braves signed veteran catcher Jonah Heim to a one-year contract, according to multiple media reports.

Heim was with the team on the first day of spring training when pitchers and catchers reported on Tuesday, according to MLB.com.

Heim, 30, was non-tendered by the Texas Rangers last November. The 2023 All-Star and Gold Glove winner played 595 of his 608 career major league games with Texas, posting a .226 batting average and .282 on-base percentage with 68 home runs, 87 doubles and 277 RBIs with the Rangers.

In 2023, he hit a career-best .258 with 18 homers and 95 RBIs in 131 games, leading Texas to its first World Series title over the Arizona Diamondbacks. He hit .212 with three homers and eight RBIs that postseason.

Heim enters Atlanta’s spring training as a likely backup to reigning NL Rookie of the Year Drake Baldwin. Catcher Sean Murphy will miss the start of the season as he recovers from a labral tear in his right hip that prematurely ended his 2025 season.

–Field Level Media