Drake Maye suffered a violent blow to the head, went back to the locker room, missed a series, but the New England Patriots decided to bring him back into the game after he was cleared.

On the Patriots’ first drive of Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Maye suffered a severe blow to the head. Maye went back to the locker room as the Chargers set up a long drive for a touchdown. Jacoby Brissett took over at quarterback. The Patriots reported that Maye was questionable due to a head injury.

But a few minutes later, Maye returned from the locker room and Patriots coach Jerod Mayo confirmed that Maye had passed the concussion test and would return to the game.

“He’s been cleared, so I’m excited to get him back on the field,” Patriots coach Jerod Mayo said in a sideline interview with NFL Network.

On a third down, Maye ran near the sideline. He got out but was hit hard by Chargers cornerback Cam Hart at exactly the same moment, with Hart’s helmet hitting Maye in the helmet as he executed a spin move. No penalty was assessed as Maye was a runner during the play and attempted to stay in the field.

Maye lay there for a few seconds, holding his face mask. He slowly stood up and walked to the sideline, and after sitting on the bench for a few seconds, he was called into the blue medical tent to be checked for a concussion. Not long after, he went to the locker room.

But Maye was back on the Patriots’ first drive of the second half. On his first drive back, he ran it and Chargers linebacker Junior Colson was penalized for hitting Maye in the head after sliding down.

There was concern because Maye missed the second half of a Week 8 game against the New York Jets due to a concussion, although he was back in the starting lineup the next week.

Maye had a promising rookie season and Saturday offered a national audience the opportunity to watch his progress. His day wasn’t over as early as it seemed for a while.