PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
September 26, 2025
MV: Just with the injury designations, Jared Wilson will be out, K'Lavon Chaisson will be questionable, Christian Gonzalez will be questionable and Mike Onwenu will be questionable, so that'll cover that.
The other thing is, this week is Crucial Catch, and I unfortunately have to tell you that Terrell Williams was determined to have prostate cancer and is in the process of treatment, meeting with specialists and figuring out the best plan of attack to be able to attack this, heal it, fix it and allow him to get back to better health. You know how much Terrell means to me personally and to the people on this football team. So again, we want to send our regards and just publicly let everybody know that's what he's dealing with. When he's ready to talk, he'll talk on his behalf. But I wanted to let you know that's what was going on. So, we'll continue as we have been with Zak Kuhr calling defense. I felt like that went well. I think the communication through the week, organization hasn't missed a beat whatsoever. So, I think those guys are doing a great job over there. Vinny DePalma is helping, as he progresses, to work with the linebackers, and he was doing that role anyway. So again, really comfortable with where we're at and how we're operating. But just our thoughts and prayers – and T [Terrell Williams] knows all this. We talk all the time – but just that we are with him. His family's been through a lot and we care about him.
Q: Mike, will Terrell be treated here?
MV: I think that would be the plan. I don't know if you could get any better anywhere else, but our medical staff and people in this town have been fantastic to help him and get him started with that process.
Q: You have a clear level of affection for him, can you share the kind of depth –
MV: This is a hard business. This is tough. There's a lot of dynamics that go to this. I mean, you guys have been spoiled. You guys had Tom Brady and Bill Belichick for 20 years. Let me just tell you, that's fantasy land. We can call it what it is. And when you do this, you've got to have people that you trust implicitly, that are loyal, and he's been that. When you get into a shit storm, like you do during the season, and things, teams and rosters – he has an ability again to reach everybody. He always kept me in perspective. Very few people – was always willing to share his thoughts with me if I needed a guardrail. So, again, going through this thing for the first time and having guys like him with me, I'm very conscious of their ability to help me do my job and to help the team.
Q: Who do you plan to start at running back?
MV: We have different packages. I don't know what the first package is, but if you're asking me if Rhamondre [Stevenson] is on some sort of discipline, no. The discipline is we need our best players to play in a game and do their job and take care of football. And we all have to do that. Drake [Maye] had an interception and a fumble, we're not going to play Josh [Joshua Dobbs] right now. We have to fix those things, the people around them have to be better and I'm confident that we will. I'm not going to talk about the alternative. I'll go down that road later, but those are things that we have to get fixed, but we also have to do good things with the football, make people miss, make yards and catch it and block when they blitz. So, we're confident that those guys can do that.
Q: What's the level of confidence in Ben Brown with Jared out?
MV: High. Ben's here because we believe in him. He's worked at center, he's worked at guard through camp, and again, he'll compete. I'm excited to see him play. Everybody's here for a reason. Take advantage of your opportunity, and I'm sure that Ben will do that.
Q: Mike, going back to Terrell for a second, some of your assistants shared yesterday that he's been around in the halls, but do you expect him to be –
MV: As much as he can. And again, that would be speculation based on how he feels and based on what those treatments entail. So, I can't tell you what it's going to look like because I'm not sure, and that's really where it is. And if he feels good enough to come in, contribute and be able to add value, then that's what we want. We want him to be able to do that.
Q: Mike, this is a little bit different, but doing something on Joshua Dobbs. I'm curious from a roster-building perspective, what in your eyes makes for a good backup quarterback?
MV: One that can challenge, I think, but support and be able to have that role of being a sounding board, being able to provide assistance to the starting quarterback. One that obviously can go in, execute when called upon and have to go start and play. You want to make sure that that's also a part of it. It's a unique dynamic, being able to manage different personalities with the offensive staff or with the quarterback. Josh has done that, and he's done it pretty well.
Q: How has Christian [Gonzalez] looked over the course of the week?
MV: Good. I think he's taken most of the reps. I think he's continued to get into better condition and we'll see how he responds from today, from the speed work today. And then we'll go and make a decision that is best for him and best for the football team.
Q: Mike Onwenu was not on the injury report. Did something crop up today?
MV: Yeah, nothing – we have to do it just for sake of doing it and making sure that we're following the rules.
Q: It seems like Khyiris Tonga's made a play most of the times that he's gotten opportunities. I'm curious, has he been what you expected when you signed him or has he been more than what you wanted him to be?
MV: I don't know. I love him as a person. I love everything about him as a person. I think he probably moves better than what I thought. I think just from watching the tape from Arizona, I think he moved better and we have to get him out there. He's factored. I like him as a person and I think when he's been out there, which we increased his snaps and we'll continue to increase his snaps, he's done a good job for us.
Q: Mike, what did you make of Tet [Tetairoa] McMillan pre-draft?
MV: …Again, I told you about him. I think he was athletic, it was fun watching his tape. Plenty of targets, athletic. Good body control for a player that size, smooth mover. I loved – when you talk about catching the ball outside the frame of your body and not fighting it, I thought that was something that he did really well.
