PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL

PRESS CONFERENCE
December 23, 2025

Q: Milton Williams being eligible to come off IR. Have any decisions been made in that regard?

MV: I think he'll practice. I think we'll start his window, see how he responds through the week of practice and go from there. I know he worked extremely hard, off with the strength and conditioning staff, with the training staff and involved in meetings. So, that's really hard to do, is to be engaged in meetings when you know you're not going to play and have some time. And so, appreciate what he's done here, his leadership and his willingness to try to get back.

Q: Speaking of wellness checks, how is the team holding up after seven players left with injuries during the game?

MV: Yeah, I mean, that's part of it. I think that we'll figure out where things are later in the week. Everybody's been getting treatment. We got back late. So, today will be a good opportunity just to see a little bit of activity, walkthrough. But get guys up, moving around. A couple of guys in the protocol. And again, I would say that those are the guys that you're most conscious of from just a mental wellbeing and not getting frustrated by how they feel. I tell everybody the same thing. Just be honest with how you're feeling. Talk to the doctors, talk to the trainer. We do an evaluation every day. We do a symptom score. So, I think those are the ones that you want to just try to focus on. The guys that have an ankle or whatever it might be, a knee, that they're going to be okay. Sometimes any of these things that relate to concussions can react differently and there's no pre-described amount of time that they're going to be out.

Q: Is that TreVeyon [Henderson] and Kayshon [Boutte] that are in the protocol?

MV: Well, TreVeyon's in it, Boutte's in it and Jared Wilson is in the protocol.

Q: How much does this time of year, Mike, with the success you guys have had as a team – how badly do guys want to get in the lineup and continue doing what they're doing? Morgan [Moses] on the sidelines the other day was doing everything he could to possibly get back in there.

MV: I mean, it's all these guys have ever known since the time that they started playing football. They wanted to be out there, they go to college and they want to be out there, and then they go to the NFL and they want to be out there. You only get one opportunity a week. It means a lot to them. Love for guys to find ways in as opposed to looking for ways out. But then, sometimes that's not always the case. They can't go in there. So, we appreciate everyone that makes an effort to finish the game or get to the game, whatever that may be and whatever capacity that they can help us. So, I think that's just what they – it's all they know.

Q: Mike, you have played a significant volume of snaps with your base personnel in the last two weeks. How does that challenge your defense and how do you see that guys are handling it?

MV: Yeah, I just think that's predicated on some of the things that they're doing offensively and the personnel groupings that they are in. We'll have to continue to do that versus the Jets, stop the run and try to find ways to get off the field on third down.

Q: Mike, they just announced the Pro Bowl rosters. You guys are 12-3 and only have two Pro Bowlers. Just curious, your reaction to that. Does that irk you at all or anything like that?

MV: Nope. It does not at all.

Q: What does that say about maybe the season you guys are having?

MV: It says that we're 12-3, and that we have two guys that the coaches, the fans and the players thought worthy enough to make the first ballot. We've got some alternates, I wouldn't imagine that that would be – I'm sure guys are disappointed. There's five – however many – five punt returners that had two touchdowns. I don't know how many years that's happened, but I think Marcus [Jones] has had a hell of a year and I think he's a Pro Bowler. I'm glad he's our returner and glad he's helped us out. But sometimes that just doesn't happen. We're focused on wins. We said that last week. The players, they make fun of me, but we're chasing wins and not plays, and if we make enough plays that are winning, that'll be enough. That'll be all we need. And so, don't really have much else to add on the Pro Bowl.

Q: Mike, now that you guys have clinched a playoff berth, what's your message for this week and the next two games?

MV: Just unfinished business. I can't focus on the next two weeks. We've got to focus on this week and going on the road to a great environment, going to New York City, play the Jets and unfinished business. We want to be undefeated on the road. I think that that's something that's unique. I'm sure you guys will tell me how many times it's happened before, but there you go. So, that's something that I think is special. Still want to play for the division. We want to win the division. Haven't done it in a long time, and whoever we put out there and whoever we play with is going to have to have that in mind and be prepared to do that against a team that's playing some young guys. They've got some good veterans. They're playing well on third down defensively. I think they have a really, really good offensive line. I think they move people. I like the way they play. I like their play demeanor. They've got two really good, young, talented tackles. Guards try to finish you. So again, they've got speed, Breece Hall can make you miss. [Adonai] Mitchell's getting more comfortable in the offense and all that. So, there's some unfinished business. The season isn't over. This wasn't our goal and I'm excited that we won, but we've moved on.

Q: Mike, what have you observed that's allowed Mack Hollins to flourish as a receiver, as a pass catcher? We know about the dirty work he does as a blocker, but as a pass catcher in this offense?

MV: He works hard. I think he's got a good catch radius. I think he's improved. I think that, to his credit, I think Todd [Downing]'s done a nice job with his skill set, trying to play big and play through contact. I think he's fearless. I think some of his best catches are some of those in cuts where he's extending his body, he's trusting that Drake [Maye]'s looked out in front of him and puts it up there where nobody else can get it. That can't be an easy task, to go in there and go up nine or 10 feet, catch an in cut and hope that you're not going to get nailed on the other side of it.

Q: Mike, from completely disinterested up to highly interested, what's your level when it comes to watching the results around the league now that you're in the playoffs trying to figure out where you're seeding and whatever else would be?

MV: I would say somewhat, slightly disinterested.

Q: How about a thought on Ben Brown?

MV: I just think Ben exemplifies everything that we want in building this program, cares deeply about the team, plays multiple positions, is a great teammate, plays with effort and finish, tries to work and improve, and has found a role for himself here. Excited to have him.

Q: Mike, in what ways has Elijah Ponder developed and validated your faith to put him on the roster out of camp?

MV: Just comfort. He's got all the talent in the world. I think just understanding this league, understanding the urgency of it, how quickly things happen, special teams, transitioning to third down, helping us or being a role player on first and second down, and trying, for me, not to take those things for granted that a young player that played at a smaller school in California could come across the country. And so, I think that that's just credit to him and credit to Jeremy [Springer] and Smitty [Mike Smith] for continuing to help him improve, and then ultimately himself going out there and getting comfortable. We've dropped him in some coverage sometimes. We've rushed them. He plays on special teams. So, there's a lot of things that he's done for us.

Q: Mike, I'm curious, the fake punt, when you watch that back, can you just explain a little bit about that?

MV: Something that we had practiced, something that I felt confident in. I wouldn't have called it if we didn't feel confident in it. Unfortunately, it didn't work. So, it was a bad call by me. Just told Te [Marte Mapu] to throw it. Give it a chance. Give Jack [Westover] a chance. If the guy dropped out of there, he dropped out of there, but try to give it a chance. It certainly wasn't designed to run, he just felt like it wasn't there and he made a decision. So, I made a decision to try the play. I'll make other calls. There'll be good ones and there'll be bad ones as well. So, just felt like we needed something there and it didn't go our way. Credit to the guys, kept playing and found a way to win the game.

Q: When you are preparing a week for the opponent's starting quarterback, and then during the game the backup has taken over, how do you quickly recalibrate your defense?

MV: Well, most of the time it's the same scheme and they're replacing Lamar Jackson with [Tyler] Huntley. So really, some of those things didn't really change and didn't have to change. They were kind of staying and doing things that they had normally done. So, if it was a drastic change, there would be things that we would have to do on the fly, but most of our attention on the fly was about getting other guys in other positions. Getting Anfernee Jennings there, getting Kyle Williams and Mack to play three different positions. I appreciate them. I'm going to tell them that here in a few minutes in the team meeting. That's not easy to do. I mean, when you have a receiver that plays three different positions, and you hear the formations and you hear the personnel groups, that's a tall order. And so, credit to Kyle for being a young player, credit for Mack for doing that throughout the game when guys went down. No different than Thayer [Munford Jr.] going in there, no different than Anfernee. And I appreciate that. And Ben Brown goes in at the jumbo tight end when Thayer goes to tackle, and things happen so quickly that Kyle didn't even realize that Thayer was no longer the tight end. He thought he had become the tackle. So, Kyle backs up off the ball and he's like, "When did this happen?" We're like, "The last play." And it was like, "This is not your fault, Kyle. This is my fault for somehow understanding that Ben now went in and reported, and Thayer was not reporting that he was the tackle." So, that's how quickly things happen. Give all the credit to the players, and the assistant coaches for having them ready and being able to help us win.