PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
October 3, 2025
MV: K'Lavon Chaisson did not practice, and he'll be questionable. Carlton Davis [III] was full, and he'll be questionable. Milt [Milton] Williams was limited, and he'll be questionable. Other than that, no other injury designations – [Jahlani] Tavai will be questionable.
Q: How would you characterize the week of practice in the lead up to Sunday's game?
MV: Focused. I think we've tried to bring energy. I think that our show teams are figuring out how they need to practice and how they need to try to execute to improve. I think that's something that we've tried to focus on after the first couple weeks. There's a lot of young players that, whether they're in their first or second year, that are getting valuable reps on those show teams. And I know from firsthand experience how critical those reps are against your front-line players. And so, I think they are figuring that out, and that in turn leads to better practices, more energy and better speed.
Q: Mike, you mentioned Milton being questionable. Can you just add any more context on what happened this week that led to that?
MV: No. It's an ankle, as it's listed on the injury report, and it's limited.
Q: How did Tavai look? I know this was his first week back.
MV: Worked really hard. Worked really hard to be in shape, trying to simulate football shape and his return to play, trying to maximize the time away from the actual practice, and working with our training staff, working with our strength coaches and was ready to go. And so, it was exciting to see him get out there and get practice, defense and the special teams, and trying to see where he's at. So, we'll see how he responds in the morning, and then we'll make a decision going forward.
Q: He's obviously a bigger inside linebacker than the others you have on the roster, what appealed to you when you were studying his build?
MV: Versatility. I think he plays with good technique. I think he can play multiple spots. I think he's an instinctive player. I think he sees the field. I think he understands different concepts. He's a veteran player that's played in multiple spots, so there's a versatility there. I like his fundamentals. He's done a lot of different things in other places that he's been and here.
Q: Will Jared Wilson be back starting this week?
MV: Yeah. He's worked hard to come back, and so, as of right now, the plan is to start Jared and continue that development there on the left side and his play. And if we need Ben [Brown] or we need Vederian [Lowe] or we need Marcus [Bryant], those guys are ready to step in there and perform in the game like Ben did last week.
Q: Drake [Maye]'s had some good success on third down – a lot of success on all downs – but his success on third down, what are you seeing on that down that's maybe contributing to that?
MV: Well, it starts with protection. I mean, if we can protect the quarterback, I would say keeping it to third-and-manageable and not getting out over our skis with the third-and-extra longs, which are difficult and force us to move the ball down the field into, potentially, a lot of coverage – which we've converted some of those. We've done a nice job in trying to convert some of those. Ball placement's critical. If it's man, putting it somewhere out in front. Zone, being decisive, getting it to guys and guys being able to drop step and get the first down.
Q: Mike, what has Will Campbell done Monday through Friday that's allowed him to show improvement?
MV: Consistency. For a young player, I think that there's a really unique consistency, professionalism about the time that he shows up, the time that he goes and meets with the offensive line coaches, the time that he gets his treatment or lifts, the way that he studies and practices, and they just kind of keep building positive days on top of each other and then preparing for his matchups and his job on Sunday.
Q: Mike, James Cook this weekend, is there anything you did different in practice to prepare for him?
MV: I mean, if we had somebody that could show us a look for James Cook, we'd be using him a lot. So, he's very talented with the football in his hand, they do a great job of maximizing his skill set and understanding that defensively everybody's at the point of attack, no matter where the ball starts, with him or you think it's going to go somewhere, you have to be sound, you have to have some gap discipline, certainly great efforts to get to the ball, and rarely does the first guy tackle him.
Q: Mike, going back to the show team, how fine did the details get for these guys when they're charged with simulating a James Cook or Khalil Shakir?
MV: Well, they meet, we do a lot of walkthroughs, we exchange and really they begin to try to morph into that particular person by the end of the week. When the techniques are the same or the plays are the same, we want to just try to call our stuff, in our format, so they can go and play. I've never been a big believer in putting stuff on the show team and saying, "Well, this guy's going to go here or bite up on the run or play this or play that." Do we really know how they're going to react on defense? I mean, they're defensive guys. They're going to get lined up, they're going to communicate, they're going to see the ball, they're going to trigger. And so, to a more realistic – I'm like, "How do you know where they're going to line up?" We've got a million cards, that we think that they're going to actually be right there in the game or disappointed when they're not there. Wherever they are, we're going to have to block them. Wherever they are on offense, we're going to have to cover them or tackle them. And I think that's how you have to work and be able to teach the game so that you can become more instinctive and be able to handle the different things that are going to happen throughout the game.
Q: How nice is it to see Rodney Harrison when he makes his return?
MV: It would have been nicer to see him 20 years ago and still be ready to play for us. But really, I think my career probably started to really take off, and the longevity of my career, partly due to Rodney and just how hard he worked at that age to take care of his body, but to still train his body. The violence in which he played with, the accountability in which he held me to and teammates, was something that I always admired. And so, any chance that I can get to be around him is great. But I always enjoyed my six years with Rodney.
Q: The things you just listed off sound like things that are hallmarks or staples of your program, like how you coach now. Is that a fair description?
MV: I think it's fair. I think it's also hard to find those types of guys that are willing to protect the team, not worry about conflict and not worry about saying something to somebody. Rodney wasn't big into feelings. He was a great friend and a great teammate, but he cared about winning, he cared about the team, how we played, how we prepared and how we competed. And if that bothered somebody, it certainly didn't bother him.
Q: Not to oversimplify things, but is that a generational thing?
MV: I don't know what that is. I'm not sure. We're going to keep searching it, keep building it and then explaining to these guys that it's okay that if you care about somebody, if we put the time in to have some connections and care about somebody, you can have some truthful conversations and say things that when you say it to a friend, they probably take it to heart, when you say it to a stranger, they probably think you're full of it.
Q: With Milton out of practice on Thursday, was there anyone you felt stepped up?
MV: I mean, Josh [Joshua] Farmer's working extremely hard, Cory Durden, Eric Gregory. I mean, those guys that we like in there, and they're young guys that continue to work, and we've gotten to try to get them reps intentionally as the season has gone on. I think their snap count has continued to improve. So, the more guys that we can play up there, that they can help us, great.
Q: On the defensive side of the ball, Mike, how important is continuity? When guys are dealing with injury, how do you mimic continuity with captains?
MV: I think that that's just a product of your system and making sure that everybody – the continuity, that the communication is the same. That linebackers are talking and speaking the same language. We rotate guys through practice just the same way as we have to get them ready for the game, that everybody's communicating the same, that they're talking the same language, they have the same demeanor and understand how we want to play, knowing that it's going to be hard to play with the same roster or same lineup throughout the season.
Q: Mike, pivoting to Drake for a second, when you first got here and the staff assembled a development plan for him, who all was involved in deciding, "These are our priorities with Drake?"
MV: I mean, me, Josh [McDaniels', certainly the offensive staff. We have a lot of good, young minds. We have some veteran coaches in there. And so, I think that was a good process in allowing everybody to be heard, talk through and then try to come up with what we think is best for him.
Q: Mike, you talked about continuity. Josh talked about the connectedness of Buffalo's defense. Though they've maybe changed some safeties over the years, there's a lot of guys who've played a lot of football together, both sides of the ball for them. How much of that connectedness comes from continuity that they've established?
MV: I mean, I think that they have a program in place, and they certainly have done a fantastic job of building that. Credit to Brandon [Beane] and Sean [McDermott] of the types of players that they bring in and the ones that they develop, and it's very successful.
