PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL

PRESS CONFERENCE
November 4, 2026

Q: You mentioned Monday that you were going to see how A.J. [Brown] was progressing and perhaps have a better idea whether we'd see him out at practice this week. Do you have an update on that?

MV: I don't think you'll see him today. I don't think you'll see – [Christian] Barmore and TreVeyon Henderson are away with an illness, so those guys won't be there. There'll be some other guys that will come out later in practice after the media availability. But those three guys probably won't practice at all today.

Q: Good to know Mack Hollins is eligible.

MV: Yep, Mack and GVR [Greg Van Roten] will return to play. We just want to get guys out there at practice. There's only so much that the trainers and strength coaches can do with them. So, hopefully we can work those guys back in and see where they are here as we work through the week.

Q: Mike, there's a report out there, a national report, that Christian Barmore and Carlton Davis III are available as you approach the trade deadline. It kind of sparked a discussion about a 5-3 team that seems to be very much in the middle of the AFC East.

MV: I think sometimes national reports have the tendency to do that. I have not shared that information with anybody. This time of year, I think that all these things kind of get drummed up. So, we're focused on trying to prepare for Green Bay and make the corrections from the game. This is business as normal here, so I don't know where a lot of these things come from. Certainly not from any conversations with me.

Q: When you have a player that's involved in those trade rumors, do you feel compelled to clear the air with them or talk?

MV: No, I think what I feel compelled to do each and every day is try to coach our football team, try to get the guys prepared, and try to find, at this point in the season, the small little things that we can improve on. You talk about those two players in particular. So, the conversation is, when Christian was able to get a sack the other day from the same move he's been making, he cleared his feet, he cleared the trash of the center and the guard. I said, "Hey, let's continue to work this. There are a couple times where our feet are getting tangled up inside there, but we're clearing and we're edging on a guy." So those are the conversations that I have with players. Or CD [Carlton Davis III], "Hey, this is a good job replacing in the run game. Let's be mindful of whatever else our technique is here in zone or man, or we're in a combo calling a bunch." Those are the conversations that I try to have with all the players. I've asked the coaches to do the same thing at this point in the season. Eight games in, we're still trying to find ways to improve as maybe the reps in practice go down. So, to your point, those are the conversations that I have with all the players.

Q: For A.J. Brown, is injured reserve a possibility?

MV: Again, I can just speak on today and where he's at today and what we feel like he can do today. So, that's why I said he wouldn't be out there today.

Q: Are you guys willing to trade players at the deadline if the situation is right?

MV: Well, and I've said this a bunch, and I'm sure that Eliot [Wolf], when he speaks, and Ryan [Cowden] and whoever else speaks on our behalf, we'll always try to look and see ways to make the roster better and make our team better. So, that could be multiple ways. We've had some moving parts here with the roster, guys coming off the roster and trying to get them on the practice squad. We got guys coming back from designated for a return. We only get so many of those spots, so there's certainly a lot of things that we have to look at with the roster.

Q: What's your concern level with A.J. and his knee?

MV: My concern is about trying to prepare for the Packers. That's really my only concern, trying to figure out what we do today, on first and second down, how we practice, and how we can carry over the second half of last week's football game to where we look like somewhat of the expectations that I would expect us to look like. Those are my concerns and trying to figure them out. Certainly the health of the team is critical, but we have to make sure that the guys that are practicing are preparing for Green Bay.

Q: What are you seeing from Green Bay on film?

MV: Nobody's had more 20-yard pass plays. A quarterback that's wildly efficient. He has a few off days, but they're few and far between. They throw shots. They've obviously great speed on the edges. They have an excellent tight end, Tucker Kraft, and now getting [Josh] Jacobs back, it seems like they're trying to work him back in there a little bit more and see what he can do for them in the red zone and things like that. I think they've protected better the last few games. I think that when one of your best players for them is their quarterback, or their best player, that's an emphasis that they try to make because when you give him time, he's able to find [Matthew] Golden, [Christian] Watson or Tucker Kraft. Defensively, very physical. They have the second-most negative plays and created the second-most negative plays in the league. Seventeen percent of their drives end in a turnover, so that leads the league as well.

Q: Matt LaFleur said prior to the year that Jordan [Love] is the best quarterback he's ever had at the line of scrimmage. Obviously, he had [Aaron] Rodgers, so I don't know if that was a shot at Rodgers or whatever. But can you see that on tape? Are you able to view that on tape and understand, like, he's got great control up there?

MV: Yeah, I think you see that a lot of times in protection. On third down you'll see him. Starting the season with Minnesota is probably not something that's very fun. Whether he's sight adjusting and the ball's coming out quick, or he's changing the protection and making a call, communicating, I think I've seen that growth over the last couple years. Certainly, give him a lot of credit for the way that his career started: watching. I think that that's hard. It's hard to develop when you're not playing. But he certainly did. He probably learned a lot from what Aaron was doing and how Matt was doing it with him.

Q: Just to piggyback off of Doug's [Kyed] question from earlier. He asked about your openness to trading guys away. Can you make this year's team better by trading away contributing players?

MV: There's probably a bunch of ways we can make this team better. Coach better, execute better. That could be guys on the streets, but there's multiple ways. Again, we have these conversations each and every day. Right now, there'll be another week before the trade deadline. We'll be leaving for Munich next week. So, we're focused on today, how we get better, how we can run the ball better and how we can affect the quarterback. All these things that if we don't do, it's going to be tough.

Q: Mike, when he's been available, do you think Carlton Davis III has played as well as he did last year?

MV: I think midway through the season is not the time for me to give a state of the union on each player. I could tell you in our phases, again, I love CD's toughness, his ability and the way he competes. But defensively, we have to improve. The standard wasn't the way that we gave up X plays last week or let them drive the ball. Those are the things that we're concentrating on. How do we create more turnovers defensively? I don't look at talking about each player and giving a synopsis after eight games. I don't think that's fair to anybody.

Q: Mike, is Harold Landry III still tracking to return for you guys at some point?

MV: I would say that anybody that's still here and that's getting treatment is tracking. How quickly they track or what that pace is, I don't know. I just know that he's working extremely hard. Like I've said a few times before, whenever he's ready, he'll start to return to play or he'll start that process. He's doing some things on the side and he's doing some things with the strength coaches and the trainers. I know he's working hard.

Q: You mentioned Andy Borregales' ball placement ability on Monday. You only had three touchbacks this year versus 26% of your kickoffs last year being the touchbacks. Can you explain that change in approach? Do you think you got what you want?

MV: I think there's a fine line between putting the ball on the 12-yard line and putting it on the 2-yard line, and I know that that seems like a lot. It's 10 yards. I think just with the way these guys kick, we want to make sure that the kicks are at a good location. Last year it may have been, maybe we didn't cover them as well. Maybe there was a good returner. Whatever that plan was. So, this year I feel like we're covering them with some energy the way that I like. Had a couple that got out, but I think you can see the impact that we made the other night on a sequence of plays where we're able to cover, pin them in their 15-yard line, get an interception and then score. So, that was a pretty good complimentary set of plays for us.

Q: Mike, along those lines, what has Darius Muasau brought to this team, and what appealed to you about him in the first place?

MV: Well, Zak [Kuhr] had him. Shane Bowen had him in New York. They felt like just a guy that could play. He could give you some backup reps at both Mike and Will inside that didn't require a ton of reps. He had a versatility to him. He's been a fourth-down contributor for us. When you're trying to figure out guys for defensive rotations, you want a guy that can play center and guard that doesn't have to take a lot of reps. So, an inside linebacker that can play both those positions, but doesn't have to take a lot of reps away from the guys in front. But if something happens, you don't have to limit your game plan. So, I think Darius has been able to do that as we continue to develop the young guys.

Q: Mike, TreVeyon has been out for six days now. How serious is this illness?

MV: It's as serious that he won't be available today.

Q: Mike, this doesn't have to do with anything on the field, but Tom Brady is coming back as a broadcaster for the first time. I'm just curious, A, will you have a chance to catch up with him? And B, have you caught any of his broadcasts?

MV: I think I'm required contractually to catch up with him at some point. I'm sure it'll be a Zoom. I'm sure they won't show up here. I'm sure it will be on Zoom. Yep, there you go. So yep, contractually I'll be talking to him, and I'm sure I'll see him at Gronk's [Rob Gronkowski] induction on Saturday.

Q: Robert Kraft was named a finalist once again for the Hall of Fame class of 2027. Just what are your thoughts on what he's been able to accomplish in his career, and he's deserving of that?

MV: Of course. I mean, obviously I think just being able to buy the team and the success that they've had since he's bought the team is really unprecedented. I think the ability to continue to grow this area, to grow what is Patriots, the Patriot Place and everything that surrounds this place. The success speaks for itself. I think he's always continuing to grow the game. I think having these conversations as a coach now with Robert about the media deals, the ability to grow the game, trying to strengthen our relationship with the players and what's best for the game of football. I mean, he admittedly started out as a fan of the team and then obviously was able to buy them. I started out as a fan of the Browns. I didn't end up buying the Browns, but I played in the NFL, so I guess we all have a dream. He's certainly done a lot. The ability to keep it within his family is something I appreciated, having the opportunity to come back here and work with familiar faces.