FOXBOROUGH - Drake Maye makes life more difficult for opposing defenses with his ability to run.

More and more opposing teams have been designating spies to stay in and protect against him taking off with the football.

Tampa Bay was the latest to have a defender with eyes on him at all times.

Maye joked Tuesday it wasn’t necessary.

“I told (Tampa Bay B) Lavonte David after the game, ‘I can’t run. You don’t need to spy me,’'’ Maye said with a laugh. ”But it takes one less defender for them to put in the pass (defense). It’s better for us.

“But at the same time, you’ve got to be cognizant of the spier. Know that he’s kind of near the line of scrimmage, so we kind of have to have a guy there to block him. You gotta have eyes on him and be mindful of what they’re doing with games up front, to know they could bait you into something. That’s really the biggest thing.”

In 10 games, Maye has had 66 rushing attempts. He’s gained 283 yards on those carries, which is second on the team behind TreVeyon Henderson (430 yards).

The Patriots quarterback has two rushing touchdowns to go with his 19 touchdown passes. He’s also converted 21 first downs using his legs.