Did Drake Maye Just Get Asked the Most Cringe Question of the NFL Offseason?

A reporter walked up to Drake Maye this offseason and asked him whether he was "thicker with two C's." Yes, really. With O'Shea Jackson Jr. hosting, the show played the audio, and the room could not believe it.

The question was as awkward as it sounds, a clumsy attempt to comment on the New England quarterback's offseason conditioning. To his credit, Maye handled it like a seasoned pro. He paused, then answered the spirit of the question rather than the cringe of it, explaining the nature of a long NFL season, how players tend to lose weight and muscle over the year, and how the offseason is about building that back and maintaining it. He was just trying to be the best version of himself, he said, physically and mentally.

The show gave him full marks. A-plus handling of the situation, one of them said, the kind of leadership and poise you want from your quarterback. He shed the defender, ran for the first down, and made a play out of nothing.

The reporter, on the other hand, got roasted. Can the older reporters please stop asking cringe questions, Brockman pleaded, drawing the parallel to grown men trying too hard to relate to female athletes and young players alike. Just ask the question, he said, and stop talking so they can answer it.

From there it became a bit. The crew imagined the reporter running the question by his family the night before, with the kids begging him not to do it, except maybe one mischievous third child egging him on to see what happens. They demanded to know the reporter's name and general vicinity, purely for informational purposes.

The lasting damage, though, may be the nickname. By the end of the segment, the show had christened the quarterback "Cake Maye," to his future horror. He handled the question beautifully. The branding, he cannot control.