Patriots owner Robert Kraft issued a statement on Wednesday in support of Bill Belichick's Hall of Fame candidacy. (AP photo)

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Looks like there was something to the Drake Maye shoulder injury rumors after all.

The New England Patriots issued a projected injury/practice report on Wednesday, although they didnt hold an official practice, and sure enough, quarterback Drake Maye was on it with a shoulder issue. Rumors were rampant about that possibility on Tuesday.

If the team were to have practiced yesterday, sittting it out would have been LB Robert Spillane (ankle), linebacker Harold Landry (knee), OT Morgan Moses (rest), tight end Hunter Henry (rest) and OT Thayer Munford, Jr. (knee/illness). Maye would have been limited, and same for receiver Mack Hollins (abdomen).

Spillane’s injury will bear some watching, as he reinjured his ankle in the Denver game after missing some time in the last month of the regular season.

KRAFT COMMENTS ON BELICHICK HOF SNUB

Count New England Patriots team owner Robert Kraft among those shocked that Bill Belichick reportedly will not be selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

In a statement to The Associated Press on Wednesday, Kraft said he believes Belichick’s accomplishments are clearly worthy of selection for the Hall on his first ballot.

“Whatever perceptions may exist about any personal differences between Bill and me, I strongly believe Bill Belichick’s record and body of work speak for themselves,” Kraft said in the statement.

Citing four unidentified sources, ESPN reported Tuesday that Belichick didn’t receive the necessary 40 votes from the 50-person panel of media members and other Hall of Famers. ESPN said Belichick received a call from the Hall of Fame last Friday with the news.

The Hall of Fame declined to comment before its class of 2026 is announced at NFL Honors in San Francisco on Feb. 5.

“As head coach of the New England Patriots for more than two decades, he set the standard for on-field excellence, preparation, and sustained success in the free agency and salary cap era of The National Football League,” Kraft said. “He is the greatest coach of all time and he unequivocally deserves to be a unanimous first-ballot Pro Football Hall of Famer.”

Reaction to Belichick’s reported omission from this year’s class came swiftly from around the NFL world, with many criticizing the selection committee. The list included Hall voters and Tom Brady, who was the quarterback for all six of Belichick’s Super Bowl wins in New England. In an interview Wednesday with Seattle Sports 710-AM, Brady said Belichick not getting voted in this year was “ridiculous.”

“I don’t understand it,” Brady said. “If he’s not a first-ballot Hall of Famer, there’s really no coach that should ever be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, which is completely ridiculous because people deserve it.”

Players must be retired for at least five years before becoming eligible for inclusion in the hall. Coaches have to be retired for only one full season.

Belichick was hired by New England in 2000 and led the franchise to six Super Bowl wins and three other appearances in the title game during an 18-year span from 2001-18. Belichick’s 333 wins in the regular season and playoffs with New England and Cleveland are the second most to Don Shula’s 347. He won AP NFL Coach of the Year three times.

But he went 29-38 in his final four seasons with the Patriots following the departure of Brady, who joined the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Belichick and the Patriots agreed to mutually part ways following the 2023 season.

PRO FOOTBAL HOF ISSUES STATEMENT

The Pro Football Hall of Fame on Wednesday issued a statement on the matter:

“The Pro Football Hall of Fame understands and respects the passionate reaction of many fans, media members and enshrinees of the Hall itself in

light of published reports regarding the voting results for the Class of 2026.

It’s that very passion that propels the game.

The Hall also respects the members of the Selection Committee when they follow the selection process bylaws. It is an honor to serve as a selector.

Each year, the Hall reviews the selection process and the composition of the 50-person Selection Committee. If it is determined that any member(s) violated the selection process bylaws, they understand action will be taken.

That could include the possibility that such selector(s) would not remain a member of the committee moving forward.

The selection of a new class is the most important duty the Hall of Fame oversees each year, and the integrity of that process cannot be in question.”

(Telegraph Staff Writer Tom King and the Associated Press contributed to this report.)