PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL

PRESS CONFERENCE
October 12, 2026

Q: There were some reports last night that Will [Campbell] might miss some time. Do you anticipate that as well?

MV: I mean, we'll see how the week goes. He'll get looked at and continue to rehab. He wasn't able to finish the game, so I don't know how much time he'll miss. I don't know if he'll be back towards the end of the week or be back Wednesday. We'll take it day by day, see how he feels tomorrow, see what he does Wednesday and keep you updated on the injury report.

Q: Caleb [Lomu] stepping in for him, how beneficial do you think the month to get acclimated was for him as he now potentially takes on a bigger role?

MV: I think all the times that they have to be able to get some game action, whether that's at the jumbo tight end or getting some snaps in there at different times in practice and being able to work on both sides is critical. I think that's something that the swing tackle has to be able to do. He has to be ready to go in the game. I know he's working hard, and he's going to try to take advantage of whatever opportunity comes his way.

Q: What did he do well yesterday?

MV: I don't think it was too big for him. I think he was able to settle down. You didn't really notice him a lot, so I think that's probably a good thing. He was able to anchor at times on some power and allowed Drake [Maye] to be able transfer up into the pocket. I thought it worked together well with AVT [Alijah Vera-Tucker] when he got in there. Those are going to be some things that, whatever combinations of guys that we have, whether it's Ben [Brown] and Jared [Wilson], or it's Ben and Morgan [Moses] or Ben and Caleb, just being able to work together with the guy next to you and then try to help each other do their job.

Q: Just to build on that, it looked like those guys had a few of those games from the Raiders' stunts sorted out pretty well yesterday. What's the key to communicating on those?

MV: Well, I think it's just maybe making sure that you're protecting the guy next to you. Being able to protect the guy as somebody's penetrating. To be able to flatten that guy off and understand based on alignments, splits or stances that something like that may be coming. So, certainly we want to have some pre-snap communication, pre-snap awareness, and then at the end of the day, it's about protecting the guy next to you and being able to flatten the guy out, use your length. That'll do a lot to help the games and then making sure that the penetrator doesn't get into the crease.

Q: Is there a chance that A.J. Brown could come back this week?

MV: A chance? Yep, there is.

Q: What would he bring to your offense if he does make his way back?

MV: Well, I think just helping to add to the production. I think that's all you want from the receivers, is that they're a productive group, that they win 1-on-1 match-ups, contested catches, create separation, give quarterbacks confidence and places to go with the football. When you talk about production, I think that the unit was productive yesterday. They all contributed. So, that was real positive.

Q: On [Efton] Chism's [III] lateral play, I know you said on the radio this morning you made some stuff up, but it also sounded like it could've been a little designed. Was it?

MV: Yes.

Q: Everything happens so fast after the game, and you get in there and give these game balls out. I'm curious how you decide in the moment, and then, do you ever get to the other side and be like, "Oh man, I wish I gave one to -"

MV: Probably the offensive line. Again, we're not perfect, and in that moment, I know that they're trying not to listen to me, I'm not trying to be around them any longer than I have to, and everybody wants to get showered and figure out what they're going to do with the rest of the couple hours that they have. And so, whether it's the O-line or Pop [DeMario Douglas], we'll recognize those guys when we get with the players in here again on Wednesday in a formal setting. Everybody's watching tape here with their units and their group. So, we'll have more of a formal setting on Wednesday to be able to recognize those guys. But I'll try to be better in those opportunities.

Q: To be honest, the Kindle [Vildor] thing is just a great part of football, right? I mean, the guy's on the practice squad and he gets a game ball. He's breaking the team down.

MV: Yeah, he gets a PBU, gets a big punch out there, changes the momentum, helps us get the drive stopped. I think one of the coaches was talking and said, "Well, he had a mental error on the play, but he also had an extra effort." And so, I think that's really defines what we want our identity to be, is that the ability to have an error or a mistake, but also the ability to go finish, still impact the play and know that a mental error doesn't have to necessarily mean that the play is over or a mistake. It certainly doesn't limit our ability to finish.

Q: Mike, when you were talking about the wide receivers' unselfishness yesterday, you said, "I've got to get the whole team to look at it that way." Do you think there are some players or position groups where they're a little bit selfish?

MV: I mean, I think it's hard to get 70 guys to believe that and to understand that. Do I think that we have a high majority? Yeah. And whatever's left on that, we'll continue to chip away. It'll never be perfect, but certainly that willingness to help each other, to be excited about each other's success, to work as a unit, push each other, challenge each other, but also care for each other.

Q: On Rhamondre's [Stevenson] touchdown, what does it say to someone like Morgan Moses who had the penalty right before and then came back and played such a vital part in helping Rhamondre get into the end zone there?

MV: You just have to be ready for some of those things down there, be ready for the movement down there that happens at the goal line. Again, being able to overcome some of those negative plays or penalties that maybe in the past had set us back, and we were able to overcome them.

Q: You guys leaned on your depth at tight end an awful lot over the course of the game yesterday, both in blocking and receiving as well. How do you think that group did all the way down to Tanner [Arkin] as well as Eli [Raridon]?

Q: Yeah, we've got Cam Latu, get him going. He played in the game, played a good, vital role on special teams. Tanner got some snaps in. I think it was good to see Eli work at the line of scrimmage, block a little bit, but then also be able to get out and do some things in the pass game and things that he'll have to improve on. If you're targeted five times as a tight end, you want five catches. Hunter [Henry] continues to be reliable and very comforting for everybody because he's where he's supposed to be most of the time.

Q: Eli's had some pretty big moments over the first five weeks. What have you learned from him? What's allowed him to step up like this?

MV: Well, I think he's talented. I think he's continuing to get more comfortable each and every day, that he sees what this league is about, maybe starts to have more confidence in himself that he can do this at this level and he can do it fairly well. I think when he knows what to do, and there's a lot of different looks that he hasn't seen, defenses and defensive fronts, but I think just continuing to improve and continuing to invest in these young players.

Q: Mondre came into the game a little bit banged up, and then after TreVeyon [Henderson] goes down, probably doesn't get the rest that maybe was planned. What can you say just about his performance, the way he's playing right now?

MV: Consistent. I think he hit some good runs. I think his protection was good. Second-and-15, allowed us to get down there to the 1-yard line, almost score on really a play extension by the quarterback, which was great. Drake was able to get the defense to come out of coverage, kept his eyes downfield, all those little things. We'll need Mondre's ability to create plays out in space and catch the ball. He catches the ball very well, and we saw how critical that was last year, too. It was good to see him fight to get back out there, being limited during the week.

Q: Coach, second straight week, postgame, we've seen you tell Drake Maye, "We're not going to take any more stuff." Is that more a message to him directly, or is that a team-wide message?

MV: I think that's just for all of us. Listen, we're all in the judgment business, and we understand what this is. It's week-to-week. It's day-to-day. It's focusing on what we can do to improve, play our position, play our role. Whatever we have or our responsibility is for this football team, do it well, do it with confidence, be decisive and keep going.

Q: Mike, we asked you about the injuries with Will. TreVeyon, is he in the same boat?

MV: Yeah, probably. We'll evaluate here and see how it looks. He wasn't able to finish the game, and if we see that on Wednesday he's going to be limited, then we'll let you know he'll be limited. I know that those two players will do everything that they can to get back, but unfortunately they weren't able to finish the game, so I don't know where their availability will be less than 24 hours after the game.

Q: Mike, on the fourth down near the goal line, I think you guys were at the 7. Why go for it there?

MV: Just want to score touchdowns.

Q: I know last week you mentioned when going against Josh Allen, you need to score as many touchdowns as possible. Similar approach with Kirk Cousins this game?

MV: Sure. You just get a feel for the play, get a feel for their defense and where we are, how our defense is playing against them in backed-up situations. I think the better that we do, the more confident we look on fourth down and the way that we execute, I would say gives me more confidence to easily say, "Go for it," and some of those have been really good. I think the play to Pop earlier in that drive - the catch, the hitch, the throw. Pop runs a great route. That looked like a professional football play. So, the better that we do in those situations, I would say that the easier it is for me to put my confidence and put the team's confidence in our offense to be able to pick those up.

Q: Mike, being a bit removed from the game now, what stands out to you about what Drake was able to do yesterday?

MV: Well, he looked very calm. Again, when we give him clean pockets, he's very accurate down the field. He maybe only had a few, I would say, wrong decisions or where he wanted to go with the football. Just seemed very in control, very confident. When he felt like he needed to run, he was decisive. Then we put the ball in his hands down in the red zone, and he was able to make a guy miss. Sometimes those guys in there, we think we get a certain look down there, it looks different and then players would have to make a play. That's exactly what happened on that play. So, it was good to see him spread the ball around and have a lot of success. Clean pockets, smart with the football.