PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL

PRESS CONFERENCE
October 28, 2026

Q: I know you've voiced confidence that TreVeyon Henderson will be able to contribute going forward. With that in mind, have you given any thought to having him go back to kick return?

MV: I think that that's probably something that we'll always consider and weigh the options. I think that coming out of the Jets game, we were close on some returns. We had a couple that really weren't very effective against Chicago. We had one that was okay. But we'll focus here on Miami and what we feel like we need to do to be able to create some positive momentum in the return game, whether that's with Corey [Kiner] or Kyle [Williams], and then certainly take a look at anybody else.

Q: You have a handful of guys who are eligible to come back this week. I know you talked on Monday about Dell Pettus and Greg Van Roten and their situation. Any sort of update on their status?

MV: I probably wouldn't expect them to be at practice today as we prepare for Miami.

Q: Mike, for TreVeyon Henderson specifically, is there anything that's preventing him from being just a little more impactful with the carries that he does get?

MV: We'll see what happens this week. We've got to go run the football, we've got to execute. I think he's had some runs where he's helped us, and we all have to be better in the run game, not just one guy. But we'll have to go down to Miami and be able to run it. We'll have to be able to protect and take care of the ball.

Q: Mike, what kind of growth have you seen from Eli Raridon?

MV: Just trying to get better each week. We try to focus on Miami and not sit here and have a mid-season report after seven games. So, we've got to go on the road in the division.

Q: How does this Miami team challenge you?

MV: Well, they play extremely hard. I have a lot of respect for what Jeff's [Hafley] done, and probably a unique set of circumstances, which they've kind of admitted to. But they've got a quarterback that Jeff's been around and seen him grow and develop and win football games. They run the ball, they shift motion every play offensively. They've run for 185 yards the past two weeks on average. Malik [Willis] can hurt you, designed runs or play extensions. They create X plays. They're tough to tackle. [Malik] Washington, as a punt returner, when he catches the ball on offense. He had a 74-yarder against us last year. They had another X play. They had an X play where they threw the ball for 5 yards last week, and couldn't tackle [Caleb] Douglas, and he scored. So, they're doing a really good job of continuing to improve. Defensively, veteran guys, they've got some core guys. Chop [Robinson] continues to mix speed and power. [Zach] Sieler's a guy that we've always struggled with. He blocked a field goal here last year. [Jordyn] Brooks has led the league in tackles the last two years. I think [Jacob] Rodriguez is an instinctive football player that hammers every single time. The safety, I mean, he's got two picks. So, I think that they've continued to improve, and I know that they're probably – and they should be – excited to play at home in front of their crowd. We'll have to go on the road inside the division here and continue to improve.

Q: Ollie Gordon's [II] really come on the last few weeks. I'm curious, what have you seen from him and his emergence, and what are the keys when you're defending a run game that likes to pull linemen as often as these guys do?

MV: Well, Ollie's a big back. He's taken advantage of his opportunities, just like we always talk about in the National Football League. He's got, whatever, the last four games, 4 touchdowns, he's averaging 4.8 yards a carry. So, he's doing exactly what we talk about and getting opportunities and making the most of them. Whether they pull guys, it's gap scheme or zone or toss crack, you basically just have to be able to get guys over there. When they move and they add gaps somewhere else, you're going to have to either take linemen over there, or you're going to have to get linebackers to fit and secondary players to be able to make tackles.

Q: Mike, we know you were kind of around the Boston College program for a few years when your son was playing there. What did you like about the program that Hafley was building at BC?

MV: I mean, I had a job, too. I was coaching the Titans, so it wasn't like I was there every day watching practice and saying, "Come on, Tyler [Vrabel], let's go."

Q: Did you ever talk with him?

MV: I mean, no, I didn't tell him what to do for BC. We'd try to talk football and just support him like I would a parent. Again, Jeff is a very good football coach. He has coached at the highest level, whether that be at the NFL as an assistant, at Ohio State as an assistant. To be able to come to BC and do a really good job there. He's an excellent coordinator. I think he has sound fundamental beliefs. They pressure, but it's not unsound. It's not like it's a scheme that you really could just exploit. There's not guys that are uncovered. They play split safety, they play post safety, they play multiple coverages. He's got obviously the secondary background. And again, he mixes the blitz in, but it's not just, "Hey, we're going to blitz every single play." So, he's a good football coach. He's a good teacher. I've got a lot of respect for him.

Q: With the time between the Thursday game and this upcoming game and getting back into it now, did you guys have a different opportunity to do a little more self-evaluation or self-scouting this week?

MV: I think we always try to do that, but I mean, I think you have a little bit of time and just saying, "Hey, where are we after seven weeks?" and "What are some of the things that we could try to improve on?" I think there's only some certain ways to improve throughout the season, and maybe that's a few details or a few fundamentals, and to think that there's going to be a whole cell change based on what we've seen from seven weeks, I don't know. But we're going to keep harping on the fundamentals and giving guys a couple things that realistically they can improve on. Maybe that's tackling, or a pass rush move that's close but just not finishing, or reaching with the far arm. Some of those things, I think, probably try to focus on over the weekend and Monday.

Q: Leonard Taylor's [III] one where he's starting to come on a little bit more and there's more plays in games. What are you seeing from him on a week-to-week basis?

MV: Yeah, I think just like you said, he continues to improve. I think he puts a lot of time in. He spends a lot of time with Clint [McMillan] and Abdullah [Anderson] to be able to play multiple spots. I think that he will continue to improve the more opportunities that he gets and the more comfortable that he gets. He came in last year, did a nice job for us.

Q: Mike, with the young edge rushers you have on your team, how do you coach them to continue to make plays with their explosiveness, but meanwhile play with discipline, not lose containment on the quarterback and running backs?

MV: Well, I think every time that they hand the ball off, it's not always just on the outside linebacker. As far as contain, I think that's probably a bit of a misnomer. They may have responsibility for it on 75% of the plays. Certainly, other times, it may be a safety, it may be a linebacker. It somewhat gets lost in the shuffle that everybody just thinks, well, "Every time that the ball goes outside, it's got to be the outside linebacker." Most of the time, I would say 75%, yeah, probably that's the case. But again, somebody's responsible for setting the edge and making sure that that happens. As far as pass rush, I think it's a balance based on who they're playing, the quarterback that we're playing and what the plan is that week. It seems, obviously, every week there's going to be some sort of quarterback that's mobile and can extend. So, then it's about putting a plan together and making great split-second decisions. Do I come under? Do I try to level at the top of the pocket? Do I get back into the middle of the pocket? All these decisions that they have to make while trying to go, like you said, make a play. Then their decisions impact the rest of the defense. What's the coverage? When can they be aggressive? When can they maybe not be, or when do I have to be like "Hey, there's a pressure, I've got to make sure that my outside arm's free and I'm at the top of the pocket if the quarterback takes off." Things like that. So, there's a lot of factors that go into it, mainly the call that we're in and who the quarterback is.

Q: How does the heat impact the way that you plan for this game in terms of snap counts, usage, and does Miami try to take advantage of their home field advantage by going pace or anything like that?

MV: They'll go on the ball a little bit. I'm not sure, but we have to be conditioned. I think the better that we play, the more we possess the ball, the fresher we'll stay defensively. Hopefully we get the receivers into a rotation. The backs, we rotate. I don't think that the offensive linemen will necessarily rotate. We may play a couple guys based on who's available. That remains to be seen. The edge guys, we rotate. We try to rotate along the defensive line. We like to have our best players available to help us win.

Q: Mike, on Monday you mentioned there are some things you're just going to have to be okay that we're probably not going to be able to improve on. Within those things, aside from maybe a lack of production, what factors go into deciding, "Okay, this is something we're not going to improve on?"

MV: It's just when I look at it from my perspective, it's like, "This is what we've seen from seven weeks, and we can yell and scream about it till we're blue in the face, or we can coach it, and it's maybe not going to change. And it doesn't have to necessarily be negative. Is the guy getting his job done? Are we able to effectively protect or block? Is there any behavior that is an inconsistency, or is it just this is what the player's going to do? And it could be minute little details and probably things that I obsess about way too much and didn't mean to make it seem like it was something other than what it was. Like, the guy's hand's not perfectly inside. Is that every single time or is it just a one-off? And if they're able to do their job, then we have to be able to give them some professional initiative that they're able to get their job done.

Q: You were talking about Willis and his legs. Have you seen [Bobby] Slowik sort of build the offense a little bit around that?

MV: I mean, again, I think that they have. They've shown a few designed quarterback runs against the Jets, but where he's just as dangerous is when guys are trying to rush him, and he's committed, decisive and not afraid to go up into the middle of the pocket and try to attack the defense like a point guard, and either be able to dump it off or gain 50 yards like he did against the Bengals in scrambling. He's a strong runner. They have some draws that are designed for him. The line does a nice job. [Aaron] Brewer does a fantastic job of going out and getting the linebacker out in space. So, maybe there's been a little bit of an uptick of some designed plays, whether he's scrambling or the designed runs, they've been a large chunk of their run game.

Q: When your decision is to go for it on fourth down, how strictly do you follow the numbers?

MV: I think we have an idea of where we would like to try to strongly consider it or strongly not consider it. Then I have to make a decision based on what I feel or what the game flow is. Is it early in the game? Is it late in the game? Are we up one score? Can we go up two scores? So, I think that there's, again, a balance. I think we have an idea of what the numbers may suggest, but I don't think it's always just a, "That's what we do."

Q: Mike, I hope you have time for a quick question not about the game Sunday. A Boston University study revealed today that 75% of NFL players who died between 2008 and 2023 had CTE. I'm wondering if you might reflect on those findings, and also if you think the game has made any positive changes going forward?

MV: Yeah, I think the game has. I think the league has. I think we're aware of it. But I also would say, having done this for the better part of 20 years, speaking for myself, I knew what the risks were, in that your kids were going to have to see you maybe be knocked out on the field and laying there unconscious, or getting another surgery or breaking your arm or breaking your leg. That's how most of the players that I know are wired. You just love the game so much that you're going to do whatever you can to play the game. Now, what the league has done and what the Players Association – we should do everything that we possibly can to make sure that when our players leave the game, they can be husbands, they can be fathers, they can be friends, and that they can have a quality life. They work hard for what they earn, and they should be able to enjoy it with their family. So, I do think that the league in being conscious and trying to make the game safer and better, is good. But I also knew what I was signing up for when I decided to play the game.