The New England Patriots “fully support” coach Mike Vrabel and his decision to step away from the team during the final day of the 2026 NFL Draft on Saturday, April 25.
Vrabel told ESPN late Wednesday that he would be “committed to seeking counseling, starting this weekend” amid the saga involving himself and former The Athletic NFL reporter Dianna Russini and intimate photos of the two of them published by the New York Post.
“The New England Patriots fully support Mike Vrabel’s decision to prioritize his family first, as well as his own well-being,” the team wrote on Thursday, April 23. “Mike has been open with us about his commitment to being the best version of himself for his family, this team and our fans, and we respect the steps he is taking to follow through on that commitment
“We are confident in the leadership and communication Mike has established with our personnel staff throughout this pre-draft process. While he will not be present at the facility on Saturday, we know the draft evaluations are complete and Eliot Wolf and his personnel staff are prepared to execute our draft as planned this weekend.”
The team’s statement came as a tabloid published more photographs earlier Thursday, these purporting to show Vrabel and woman at a New York City bar more than six years ago. Vrabel is scheduled to address the local media at about 7:20 p.m. ET on April 23.
Vrabel previously addressed the media on Tuesday, April 21, and thanked the media for privacy. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed to USA TODAY Sports on April 20 that Vrabel is not under investigation for any violation of the league’s personal conduct policy.
After issuing a dismissive statement after the photos from Arizona first emerged, saying at the time that they didn’t “deserve any further response,” Vrabel addressed the situation with reporters for the first time on April 21 at the Patriots’ facility in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
“I’ve had some difficult conversations with people I care about about − with my family, the organization, the coaches, the players,” Vrabel said as part of an opening statement.
“Those have been positive and productive. We believe in order to be successful on and off the field, you have to make good decisions. That includes me. That starts with me. We never want our actions to negatively affect the team. You never want to be the cause of a distraction.
“What I can promise you is that my family, this organization, the team, the staff, the coaches, everybody − our fans, most importantly − will get the best version of me going forward.”
Vrabel said he had a candid conversation with the players as the team began the first day of their offseason program, their first formal gathering since losing Super Bowl 60 to the Seattle Seahawks.
On April 7, the New York Post published pictures of Vrabel and Russini, who are both married to other people, hugging on a rooftop and lounging poolside in bathing suits at the Ambiente in Sedona, Arizona, ahead of the NFL’s annual league meeting in Phoenix. Another photo showed the two interlocking fingers.
Russini resigned from The Athletic, which is owned by The New York Times, on April 14. In a letter sent to executive editor Steven Ginsberg, Russini wrote she stood behind every story she ever published. The company initially backed Russini publicly before announcing that it was continuing its standards review of her work.
Story by Chris Bumbaca, USA Today via Reuters. Nate Davis and Michael Middlehurst-Schwartz contributed reporting.
