PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
September 1, 2025
Q: Can you shed some light on why it made sense to release Jabrill Peppers?
MV: Well, I think that these things are tough decisions. I think we're just trying to get it right. I've got a lot of respect for Jabrill as a person and as a player, and what we felt like was in the best interest of the team at this point was allowing him to have another opportunity elsewhere. There's a lot of things that go into these decisions and they're never easy, and we're just trying to get it right collectively. And, again, I know that there's a personal side and a professional side, I talked about that with the players this morning, and whether you agree with it or disagree with it, just try to respect it and move forward and continue to build a team, continue to build a program. And I know Jabrill will do good things in this league and outside of the field as well. He's a passionate player, and again, got a lot of respect for him.
Q: Coach, it felt like, in terms of intangibles, he brought a lot of what you like to talk about, passion, playing with violence. Was there a scheme fit issue?
MV: No, I don't think – that was certainly not the issue. There's a lot of reasons. I wouldn't say that that's – we're going to try to do what's best for the team. We've got a lot of different schemes that we can run in all three phases, special teams, offense and defense. And so, there's a lot that goes into it, and again, we're just trying to build towards Sunday here, and that's our focus. And, again, that's a decision that we had to make. Again, wish the best for Jabrill.
Q: Mike, what is it about Craig Woodson that has allowed you to move on from a veteran player like Jabrill with all that experience?
MV: Well, I think that his athleticism, I think his range in the field and the more he plays, I think he'll continue to get better. That's the hope there with Craig. And we'll see with Hawk [Jaylinn Hawkins] and with Dug [Kyle Dugger] and obviously Dell [Pettus] working back there now. So, just trying to find a role for everybody here.
Q: Mike, have you kind of made a conscious decision to put your imprint on the team? There's a number of guys who have been leaders, like Peppers, [Ja'Whaun] Bentley, [Joe] Cardona, [David] Andrews, Jonathan Jones, Deatrich Wise [Jr.]. They were certainly the leaders, and this hasn't been a tremendously successful team over the last two years. Have you made a conscious decision to kind of say, "We're going to pivot a little bit from that group of leadership into a new group?"
MV: I've never really thought about it in terms of that when we tried to make decisions. Some of those players were free agents. Some of them were currently on the roster. So, I don't think that's ever been a conscious decision. I think we're just trying to evaluate the roster and provide the pieces that we feel like we need right now.
Q: Just a quick follow on that. Do you see a new core of leaders who are already elevated?
MV: Well, I think that that has to happen every year. We voted for captains, we'll inform those guys here before practice. The players voted this morning, so we'll inform those guys before practice. And I think we all know that every year is a new year in this league, and that's kind of how it goes. And so, the leadership has to grow from whether it's a captain, we talked about that, not having any restrictions on leadership and hopefully that at whatever level we have guys that can lead. So, we'll have captains, and then we'll have hopefully a lot more leaders as well.
Q: Any update on the health of Christian Gonzalez?
MV: Yeah, I wouldn't anticipate him out here today. So, hopefully that improves. But, he's working hard and trying to improve, and he wants to be out there. I think what's good for us and for Christian and the team is to try not to be frustrated. Obviously, those things happen, and it's how we respond to them. It's how hard we work to get back, the communication, all the things that he's doing. So, just continue to work hard to get back and try to make sure that we're doing everything we can to help him.
Q: Is there a concern for him on Sunday with the timing and the days dwindling?
MV: Well, again, I think that – get him back for practice first, and then we'll have an update and status for Sunday.
Q: Mike, you mentioned making an effort, not to be frustrated. Is that something either the team or Christian has felt?
MV: No, that's in my own personal experience of, when you're not in there, right? When you're not in there with the team, I guess. And I appreciate you actually clarifying or asking. Those are just things in the course of my career or being a coach and dealing with players, that they want to play, they want to be out there, right? So, those are, I guess, the things that I've tried to talk to all the players about is, the time that you're not on the field is how you stay engaged and stay into the meetings and the schedule and just – they all want to play. So, again, I think that was just a broad term for things that I try to focus on when guys aren't out there. That could go for Jahlani [Tavai] or anybody else at this point.
Q: Without getting into timelines, has Christian had a setback at all?
MV: Well, it just hasn't gone – again, he's working hard, and whether it's – again, we can say one injury is going to be three-to-four weeks, one is going to be one-to-two. Everybody heals differently. So, just making sure that when the players are back that they can do their job with confidence, that they can protect themselves on the field, and that they can't make it any worse. Those are some things that I try to use as guidelines for when players are ready to play and get back there.
Q: You talked about the players not trying to get frustrated with the setbacks. What have you seen from that cornerback room and specifically with the depth you have at that position with Gonzalez sidelined?
MV: Well, I mean, I think D.J. [James] was one of our more improved players over the course of rookie minicamp, he participated in that as a veteran and hadn't had the ability to participate in that until now. Double A [Alex Austin] has done a nice job of going out there and playing corner or playing nickel. Marcus [Jones] provides a lot of leadership in there. It's been good to have CD [Carlton Davis III] string some days together. So, it provides opportunity for other guys. We'd love to have Gonzo back, trust me, we would, but I think the other guys have stepped up and tried to take advantage of the opportunity.
Q: Mike, on Jaylinn Hawkins, what makes him a good fit for this defense, for this team, for your scheme?
MV: Well, again, this is not a scheme dependent – you know what I mean? we've run a lot of different schemes, we've had a lot of different players play different positions for us. He's come in, he's played fast, he's communicated, he's tried to play with some violence around the line of scrimmage. And whether that's on the perimeter passes that we saw in some of the earlier games, I think he's comfortable. And again, the more reps that he's gotten, I think the better he's gotten and will hopefully perform.
Q: What do you like about Eric Gregory and why was he a guy that you wanted to claim?
MV: Well, I think you're always looking for young defensive linemen and guys with good size and length and production. So, somebody that we had targeted through the draft process as it got towards the back end of the draft and whether he was going to be drafted or not, and I think just the personnel department focusing on some of those players at cut-down day and having a good list and some of the players that we were able to add and really excited about working with here. Haven't really been able to work with him since we claimed him Thursday.
Q: Mike, this team played a lot of man last year. How have some of the holdovers sort of adapted to maybe playing a little bit more quarters, as we've talked about it being a little bit more of an emphasis on that? How have you noticed those guys handle that?
MV: Yeah, I think that they're working at it and it's going well. We'll play man as much as we can. I mean, we're going to be able to play from zero all the way up and trying to get good at a little bit of everything and being able to have enough coverage that gives us some versatility back there to be able to do different things.
Q: Coach, first game week for a lot of young guys, do you have to kind of remind them to not maybe overthink or over-prepare them too much or just get out there and let it go?
MV: Well, I think we have to put a lot of work in before the game, and certainly not sure what they're going to be in. There's going to be a lot of unknowns and there's going to be a lot of things that come up in that game that none of us are going to be sure about, whether that's Will [Campbell] or TreVeyon [Henderson] or any other young player that we have or any veteran player, right? There's going to be things that happen. We have to be poised. We have to keep our composure. It's going to be emotional. I want it to be emotional. I want them to be excited, and we have to build for Sunday. And so, there's going to be things that come up, and we'll have to go on to the next play and figure out what that situation calls for and try to keep our composure the best that we can, whether that's after a positive play or that's after a negative play.
Q: Do you think you know your team yet, Mike, or is it all part of that first week?
MV: I mean, I think I kind of have an idea, but I don't know if you ever really know. I mean, we'll find out. But, I mean, I think that they like coming into work. I think they enjoy coming in here to work, and they kind of understand where we're at here. This is the longest week of the season. So, we'll get them out of here today, and then they'll be off tomorrow. I'm sure they'll get into their normal season. I've asked them to try to get into their normal season day-off routine, whether that's how they take care of their body or what they do to prepare, and we'll come back on Wednesday.
Q: First game week for you here, can you describe what you're feeling here on Monday as you lead into it and know that this week is going to end with a game?
MV: I think there's a lot of excitement, but also things that you want to prepare for and how much do you prepare, how much do you give them? I guess you don't want to cover ghosts, but you certainly want to be prepared for things that come up, and maybe that's just me handling it and making sure that we're not overloading the players and give them some – they have base rules that we have to use and go and see what happens on Sunday as far as the scheme that we're seeing and making sure that we're really good in the second half. We talked about being great in the second half and being intentional with that. Twelve of the 16 winners won the second half last year in Week 1, so hopefully the dust settles and we're able to settle down in the game and play really well to finish the game.
Q: Mike, the roster was fluid even well after the cut-down day. Does it sort of feel like it's settled – understanding things can always change, but for the most part?
MV: Yeah, I mean, as of for now – as of 11:35 a.m. on Monday, I think it is, but that's just who we're going to practice with today, and as players become available or we work players out and we think that they can help us, I think we owe it to the football team to continue to explore those options.
