The New England Patriots got receiver Mack Hollins back from an abdomen injury ahead of Sunday’s AFC Championship in Denver, but per usual, his shoes didn’t make the trip.
The barefoot Hollins was seen strolling into the visiting locker room at Denver’s Empower Field on Sunday morning with what appeared to be empty beer bottles on three of his fingers. For some reason, the long-haired, 6ft4 wideout took the moment to drop a quote from the 1979 thriller, The Warriors, as seen in a social media video recorded by NFL Network’s Cameron Wolfe.
‘Warriors,’ Hollins called out while clinking the beer bottles together with his right hand. ‘Come out to play!’
Hollins, who famously eschews footwear away from the gridiron, drew a significant reaction online, where many fans questioned his sanity.
‘The guy might be psycho,’ one wrote on X.
Another joked: ‘Bros drunk [as f***].’
The barefoot Hollins was seen strolling into the visiting locker room at Denver’s Empower Field on Sunday morning with what appeared to be empty beer bottles on three of his fingers
Mack Hollins has been out since the Patriots’ December 21 win over the Ravens
Hollins was recently removed from the Patriots’ injured reserve list after suffering an abdominal injury in December.
The 32-year-old is an important piece of New England’s passing attack, although his early-season production was underwhelming. Hollins had only 11 catches over his first seven games before catching fire against Cleveland in October, hauling in seven receptions for 89 yards.
He topped that in November with a six-catch, 106-yard effort in a win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Hollins and Patriots quarterback Drake Maye also connected seven times for 69 yards in New England’s December win over the Baltimore Ravens.
Mike Vrabel’s team is deep at receiver, where veteran star Stefon Diggs is joined by rising talents Kayshon Boutte and DeMario Douglas as well as rookie Kyle Williams.
The Patriots offense ranked second in scoring and third in yardage this season.
The Broncos and Patriots will kick off in the AFC Championship at 3pm on Sunday.
Denver is without starting quarterback Bo Nix, who was lost to a season-ending ankle surgery after the team’s divisional-round win over the visiting Buffalo Bills last week. Backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham will start in Nix’s place despite not throwing a pass all season.
