PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
September 1, 2026
Q: You've got your roster down to 53, you've acquired a few players in the process. I'm just wondering if you feel any better about your depth with those moves?
MV: It's adding 10 up to 10 new faces, and that may continue to rise. Those are new guys to work with, but also, we've got to get them moving pretty quick. So, that's okay. It's just how we do things, how we practice, and every place is different. There's 31 other teams, and these guys are all coming from somewhere new. They put a lot of time into learning their system and how they do things, and now we just have to ask them in a short amount of time to try to figure out how it is that we do things, how we operate, move, function and the flow of this building. So, I'm hopeful that that'll happen, and that those guys will be able to come in and help us and find a role, and we'll work with them to get them moving.
Q: Mike, you talked about the roster, but also at the beginning of camp you discussed the sense of urgency. Eight days now to go, preseason behind you, what's your mindset and message to the players as they get ready for the opener?
MV: We have to continue to build in preparation and make sure that there's a lot left in the tank, that the tank's full when we get out there, and Wednesday night's when everything has to be ready to go. We'll keep working towards that. But also just being mindful, I don't think we can go seven days straight. That's not necessarily the idea. So, trying to put a practice plan together that allows for the preparation, the speed, and then maybe dial back and then ramp back up again.
Q: Any word on captains or how you'll go through that process?
MV: I'll tell the team this afternoon at practice here in a little bit. So, I'm sure we'll get it from our social team.
Q: Is that a player vote, Mike?
MV: Yeah, for me, the players are the ones that pick the captains.
Q: You guys claimed two players yesterday on waivers, so what do you like about Cameron [Latu] and Darius [Muasau]?
MV: Just guys that have really played NFL games, meaningful football games. Darius has shown the ability to play both spots inside. Zak [Kuhr] had some comfort and some familiarity with him in New York. I was with Cam during my time in Cleveland, and really enjoyed getting to know him, being able to work with him and try to help him. We had some conversations about him last year, and he went on to do some really good things to help Philadelphia. Then we just thought it would be a good opportunity to add somebody that has excelled at special teams and also looking to earn a role at tight end.
Q: Mike, you've been a part of season openers where you guys opened the entire season-2002 against Pittsburgh, for instance. What's different about opening the entire season, if anything, and how do you translate it to the guys?
MV: Obviously that means that you either had a really good season or the people that you're playing had a really good season. There'll be a lot of energy there. We'll have to be ready for the environment and we'll have to be really sound in our operation and everything that we do. The magnitude of it is always important. There's not that many games. Every game is critically important. It'll be a great test and a great challenge for us to be able to go on the road and do that early in the season.
Q: Mike, how far back did you start working on Seattle, at least in parts, whether it be in the spring or in the summer? Where did you sprinkle in things about Seattle and this game?
MV: I think you have to be careful how much you do early on. I don't know how much gets retained, but you try to focus on fundamentals, our offense and what it is that we're trying to do in all three phases. Then there were times during training camp or times last week that we tried to do stuff. But I think you just have to be careful. It's the first game. They got a new coordinator, and some things will be different. I'm sure they'll have some plays that are similar that they like and I think their defensive structure may be the same, it may not. It's a good defense. They're very talented. So, you just have to be careful how much you show them and try to focus on what it is that we're trying to accomplish. Certainly, we'll show them plenty and have shown them some.
Q: Have you been watching Hard Knocks with a close eye, attention or anything like that?
MV: I think we go through it. It's not much that, it's not like you get the operation. I'm sure they have content and they can control the content. But we take a look at it just to see what's going on.
Q: When you look at the beginning of the season, how big of a loss is Harold Landry's injury status?
MV: We'd love to have Harold back, we'd love to have [Brenden] Schooler back. But those guys, I wasn't probably anticipating them being out there. So, if it was something that was sudden, maybe that would be a little different. But, I think the plan was that this is not unexpected.
Q: With Bryce [Baringer], was there any thought of putting him on injured reserve the day prior? Why was there the wait to put him on injured reserve?
MV: Just to be able to do different things with the roster. So, you get eight of those designated for return spots and just wanted to see kind of where that went and how you use those throughout the course of the year. So, that was probably the reason.
Q: Mike, have you guys filled the two open roster spots?
MV: Filled the two? Yeah, I think we claimed guys, and we'll have to continue to add to the practice squad.
Q: Mike, a bigger picture question. Did you talk to many people this offseason, seek any advice, anything like that, on just how to move onto the next season following a Super Bowl loss. Is there anything you've looked into as far as that?
MV: No, I mean, we have a lot of new guys on the roster. We have guys that are returning, our core guys, and understand that the journey's going to be a lot more difficult just based on how we finished. But, I think that if you can prepare, play well and give yourself a chance to win, focus on that particular game and then move on to the next week, and treat that independently of anything else, figure out whose available. I think just staying consistent is probably the thing that we have to continue to do and not ride the waves of up here and then down low. Just have to try to stay consistent and continue to improve. The teams that do that are usually the ones that play in January.
Q: How are you feeling about your depth on the core special teams units? With all the change in injuries, are there any guys that you're maybe hoping step up in that regard?
MV: I think it was good to see a lot of the young guys improve on special teams. Gabe [Jacas], Q [Quintayvious Hutchins] and Nam [Namdi Obiazor]. Khalil [Jacobs] was working there before he got injured and some of the young gunners that we have. So, I think that was good to be able to get those guys a lot of work in the preseason and in the joint practices. A lot of those guys hadn't played special teams, certainly at our level, or the demands of it, the tricks of the trade and what goes on out there. So, I think some of the guys that we've acquired have played special teams. We'll see where they are and how they adjust. I forget your second question-
Q: Just the guys who are going to step up?
MV: The guys that are going to step up are the guys that are going to step up. I wish I could control how they step up, but the ones that take advantage of opportunities usually get more opportunities, and they'll be out there. Then the ones that don't, usually have to wait a little bit to have their turn come back around.
Q: Mike, I know you guys are still constructing and tinkering with the roster, but do you feel that the core of it right now, the 53, could compete for another Super Bowl?
MV: We're focused on just competing against Seattle, not competing for something that's going to happen in February. We're really just are trying to indoctrinate and onboard these new players to understand our language, our terminology, how we practice, where to go. They just got in there late last night, and they're going through that process. But I love the guys that we have. We're going to try to get the young guys going, but also get the guys that just got here. So, there's 10 new guys, and some of them are on the practice squad, some of them are on the 53-man roster.
Q: Mike, when you construct the 53-man roster, is your focus mainly keeping the best 53 players, or do you also consider some of the position that you can afford to put on practice squad and elevate during the game day?
MV: Yeah, I think that there's a lot to it. Some of the guys that are on the practice squad will get elevated to try to use those roles as much as we can. Sometimes it comes down to young players that, it's a game of who you might lose and who somebody else may claim. You don't know what they saw in the player or they saw in preseason. I think we have a vision for each guy, and that's really what we try to do, then go from there and then look through the claims. I appreciate the process and the hard work that everybody had, and Eliot [Wolf], Ryan [Cowden], Eliot's staff and the coaches to all help and try to identify guys that we could potentially add in a short amount of time.
Q: Mike, with Quintayvious Hutchins, I'm curious what you saw from him throughout the summer that helped him or made it so he earned his spot on the roster?
MV: Well, I think he continued to be coachable. I think that was something that he really improved on, was to take the coaching and to understand where he needed to improve. I think that just looking at special teams, I think that was something that he improved at. To be a rookie playing on the punt team, to go down there, make a nice tackle in open field and cover kicks. To do all these things, that was really different from the practices to the first game. But then I felt like he improved from the first game to the third game. I think it was eye-opening for some of these guys, on special teams, from practices to the first game. I think that's the best thing that I could say is that they got better through each of those games.
