PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
August 11, 2026
Q: You've completed a couple weeks of training camp practices against each other. You're hitting a new phase today with the joint practice. What are you looking for from your team?
MV: Hopefully, we can continue to take some strides in what we believe or hope that our identity is going to be, the fundamentals that are critical, being able to do it against a different team, one that we haven't game planned against, one that we haven't seen, one that we' have a lot of respect for as a team and what they do. So, we can work together, we can compete, and we can also take care of each other. These are great opportunities for good reps, for individual reps, for team reps, red zone, situational work, good special teams work. So, I think it will be good for some of our young guys that haven't seen some of those special teams drills and situations against another player. We've always talked about that, a skill set that may be slightly different than some of the players that they are seeing that they go against on a daily basis. This will give them a good chance to adjust and try to figure out how to either block them or get open or whatever it may be on a special team situation.
Q: Mike, with only one joint practice, do you plan on playing Drake [Maye] Thursday or –
MV: I wouldn't anticipate seeing Drake out there on Thursday, but that's all subject to change. That's where my mindset is right now, standing here today. It's important that we get the work in and get things accomplished that we are looking to get accomplished. That can always change, but I wouldn't anticipate that happening right now.
Q: Mike, we talked to TreVeyon [Henderson] last week, and he said that the game is slowing down for him and that he feels more patient and he's seeing it better. Have you seen that?
MV: He had a few nice cuts, and again, I think I've always said that the best receivers have the ability to play at different speeds and not just be fast all the time, but being able to play at different speeds. I would say that for a running back with his speed, sometimes it's important that he sees it, and much like linebackers, that no step is better than a bad step. I think by understanding the front that's out in front of the run or what it may look like at the beginning, whether there's movement, and then what his adjustments are, I think some of that is starting to slow down for him and being able to see the picture of what it looks like and then potentially what it could look like a couple strides into the run. So, he continues to work at it, and the only way to improve at it's to work at it and see it, and he's getting a lot of different looks from our defense in the run game as well.
Q: Mike, what do you see from Efton [Chism III] this offseason?
MV: Just somebody that continues to work. He carved out a role last year and made it easy for us to say that we needed him on this football team. I think he's got a good skill set of being able to get in there and block, but also marry some of that with some of the run action passes. He competes. He always takes care of the guy. He protects the guy with the ball the best that he can, and I always see him looking to finish when he does not have the football in his hands, and continues to make big plays and show up when we need him.
Q: Mike, you mentioned that Drake is likely not going to be playing on Thursday. I do not know if there are other players who fall in that same category, but I am wondering if today then is the day you look to see how they do against the competition.
MV: Yeah. That's really the only reason that we do these joint practices. It will be a lot of the frontline players and whoever's available. Some of the guys that maybe will not get as much work today will get extensive work in the game on Thursday. That's just how it goes. So, let's see how today goes, and we can always adjust and plan accordingly.
Q: You said this offseason that you were seeking counseling. I wanted to follow up on that and see what you learned from that counseling, and how did you balance that personal commitment with getting ready for this season?
MV: I think we always look at improvement. As we talk about getting ready for the next season, we always look at improvement and ways that we can improve individually and how we can improve as a team. It's really critical that we continue to do that on and off the field. I believe in that. I believe in everything that we can do to help this football team, to help our coaches, to help myself and everybody else included. This journey that we are going to go on is going to be completely different than the one we went on last year. That's all of our jobs, is to prepare for it now. So, really focused on our improvement individually and as a team, and that's something that we can do today. You look at the O-line, and we talk about them and their ability to play together as a unit. There are so many combination blocks that they are involved in, and we have to be better. Again, five O-linemen have to be able to sustain a line of scrimmage, and I just walked into that meeting room and said, "How do we improve? How do we improve our combination blocks?" We are not asking you to block everybody 1-on-1. So, I think we all have areas that we can improve on, and that includes the coaches.
Q: Is there something that's in the game throughout the season?
MV: We are always going to try to find ways to prepare and focus on our mental fitness, and that's going to continue with me, the coaches, the staff and our players. So, I love what Dr. JJ [Jonathan Jenkins] does for our football team and our ability to use that as a resource.
Q: Do you see the joint practices nowadays can give you a better chance to evaluate your team, the players and the coaches?
MV: You probably just get more reps to be able to do it. As far as -- we are going to have probably 24 first-team reps today, and I do not know if they would get that many in the game. So, say that that's probably a pretty accurate statement. Outside of live tackling, some cut blocks on the offensive line that you're not going to see today that you may see situationally in a game. So, as far as the volume, that's a great way to be able to evaluate them here in a joint practice. But there are also some things that guys have to be able to play, and even pass rushers, being able to try to finish on the quarterback. It's so difficult to work the pass rush and then say, "Stay away from the quarterback," and then they translate that into the game and have to be able to finish on the quarterback. Running backs have to be able to run through some contact and be able to break some tackles, which I don't know if we would necessarily get to see that without being live.
Q: On addressing tension between the two teams before practice…
MV: We just have to be able to play and make great decisions after the whistle. We don't want to do anything that puts anybody in jeopardy. We want them to compete. Obviously, there's going to be some pushing and shoving. If you throw a punch, you just have to head over and run hills or do something with Frank [Piraino] and his crew because that's what is going to happen in the football game, and I don't anticipate that happening. I want us to play as physical as we can and be as competitive as we can, but also be smart and try to take care of each other and understand that we have to go back and figure out a way to play the next snap because that's what happens in a game.
Q: Mike, what is your impression of where the Colts were last year before Daniel Jones suffered that injury? What are some ways that they could test your defense today?
MV: Hard to evaluate them last year before Daniel Jones and everything else. I know they are a physical football team. They are well-coached. We didn't have a lot of crossover games with them. We didn't see them a ton. We saw them a little bit. They are multiple on defense. Offensively, it's a good run football team that will run from the good tight ends, multiple tight ends, packages, an elite runner. So again, these are all looking for fundamentals today. Looking for the ability to be firm at the line of scrimmage, transition into the pocket when they have their play action passes, and be able to set edges and build walls and then run our third down package and figure out what the cadence is, figure out how much we can disguise those things. We've been going against our offense, so figuring out what their rhythm is on third down and when they want to try to undress the defense and how our disguise looks and everything else.
Q: Where do things stand with Christian Barmore's availability?
MV: I would say that he's going to be only a participant in individual today. Just still trying to get him back knowing that we have some time, and it's a long season. He's played a lot of football, and he's played a lot of football for us. He was disruptive for us. We just have to make sure that we are smart about what we are doing right now.
Q: Mike, how has that, over the course of the summer with 2 Chains [Tommy DeVito] been?
MV: 2 Chains is doing a nice job. He continues to learn, and with it being a new system, I think it got his attention a little bit better, as opposed to saying, "Hey, I know what this is," and kind of taking it for granted. I think he's really done a nice job. He did a nice job in the blue-white scrimmage, operating and doing things exactly the way that Ashton [Grant] and Josh [McDaniels] are coaching those guys to do it. We'll see how he responds today, but excited about where Tommy has been.
Q: Mike, without knowing what they will call obviously, how do you expect Coach [Lou] Anarumo to challenge the group today?
MV: I'm sure it's going to be a lot like our defense. There'll be multiple coverages. There'll be non-traditional Tampa looks. There'll be simulated pressures. There'll be load fronts on third down. But I don't know. They only give me our calls. They don't give me their calls.
Q: When you were a player, do you think you guys could have done a cooperative event with the Colts, like you guys are doing today?
MV: That's probably a little different, being in the division or being so closely tied to that football team. I think you have to just be smart on the teams that you pick and figure out how you work together. We played this team 12 times when I was in Tennessee and got a lot of respect for them.
Q: Coach, any update on Harold Landry III and just his process?
MV: He's continuing to improve. But again, I don't think we want to rush anything. Harold stays locked in on what we are doing in our defense, and again, I just want to give him every opportunity that he can to get back and feel good and feel confident before we start his clock and take him off of the PUP list.
