PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
September 5, 2026
Q: Hi, Mike. As a former player and now coach, is it hard for you to stay out of contract negotiations? Would you ever give your two cents or go to bat for someone such as Gonzo [Christian Gonzalez]?
MV: I think it's an interesting dynamic. I've been on both sides. I think what's important for me is to try to communicate, try to explain the players that we really want to build around and have. I've done that with Gonzo, and everybody knows that. So, I don't get involved in the negotiations per se, but I certainly want to be involved in trying to get the situation resolved. That's really what I try to do throughout my job, my day here, is what the issues are, what's in front of us and what we have to do to help the team. It's a delicate balance that we have to wage. I want to be able to just continue to prepare for Seattle and focus on all the things that we're going to have to do to beat an excellent football team with our team and the players that we have and how we get off to a really good start here.
Q: Mike, he has mentioned that it's frustrating. I don't want to belabor it, but has it been at all frustrating for you?
MV: No. I wouldn't use the word frustrating. Again, I appreciate how our players feel and their emotions, and I think that's part of life. But I can't let that be frustrating. I want to be able to coach him, help him improve as a player and a person, help our football team and help our coaches. I think this week, and especially today, probably feels a little bit different because it is truly game week. I think last week was hard. You come off that last preseason game, and you're in this purgatory. We have a few days off, we have to cut the roster down, we bring in some new players, we put a practice squad together. Today felt different. I think this morning felt different, and I hope that practice feels different because it's exciting to be a part of this league. To be able to open the season in Seattle is an honor, but it's a challenge, and I hope that things feel different. It did for me, getting up and coming in here today.
Q: In what ways, Mike, different from the sense of a stronger sense of urgency, or here we go, we're in game mode?
MV: Well, you can only look forward to something for so long. It's 10 days before the game, and you don't want to leave everything at the driving range. You want to save a little bit for the first tee. So, I think this is the right time to get into a Wednesday, Thursday, Friday mode.
Q: You said you don't get involved in the negotiations but want to be involved in the process-
MV: I'm not trading the offers with…you know what I'm saying? That's probably, I would imagine, pretty standard, but I don't know. I think that's just the way I've tried to do it.
Q: You said you want to be involved in trying to get the situation resolved. Do you feel like you're doing that? Do you think it's getting there?
MV: I think whenever the deal is done, that's when it'll be resolved. I don't know. I don't have a timetable. I've tried to do a good job of communicating with everybody involved the best that I can.
Q: Are you confident, Mike, in it happening?
MV: I would say when it gets done, that's really what the confidence level is. There's no, 'Is it almost done? Is it not almost done?' I don't want to deal with hypotheticals or speculation. It's important to focus on Seattle. And again, I do appreciate and understand what you guys feel like is important. I just know what's important for us is how we prepare. This is a good football team. This is an excellent football team. I told our team if we don't play better than we played the last time we played them, we're going to struggle.
Q: Mike, how do you assess what you have at running back?
MV: Well, I think Rhamondre [Stevenson], the way that he finished the year, that was exciting. We'll see where TreVeyon [Henderson] is today at practice. Corey [Kiner], we talked about him when we traded for him that he was a player that we had looked at trying to get last year coming out. It didn't work out. He's a good young runner. We've kept Lan [Larison] here, giving him an opportunity to be on the practice squad, and then Hassan's [Haskins] on the practice squad as well. So, whatever we need, some guys have a little bit of different strengths than maybe the other guys. So, there's a little bit of everything, and then we'll see who we end up using for the game.
Q: You have a lot of new edge rushers this year. I think [Elijah] Ponder to start the season is really the only returner. How confident are you that group will be able to impact the opposing quarterback like you want?
MV: I think that's why we practice. That's why we prepare, and it'll be important that we get great effort in affecting the quarterback from everybody. It's just not one position, it's how well they work with each other. When we're rushing, how well do they work with Milt [Milton Williams] or Christian [Barmore] or whoever else is inside of them, how well we pressure, or how well we cover. The better we cover, the better chance that we have to get home, and the quicker we get there, the better the chance that somebody in coverage can make a play. It all works together. Sometimes that doesn't work. Sometimes they complete them, but there are times where we work together to affect the quarterback. There are times where we work together to work on ball disruption.
Q: Milt, Christian [Barmore] and Cory Durden. I'm curious how you have seen that group grow over the summer and how you see them performing together?
MV: Well, I noticed the second day, in Philly joint practice, an impact, and I felt Milt, Cory, the energy and Christian working. I felt them. So, that has to continue to translate. We understand that the defensive line and our offensive line, they have to be the identity soldiers for this football team, and they have to carry that style of play and that demeanor, and hopefully they'll continue to do that.
Q: That first day against Philly, A.J. [Brown] had a good day. Did anything about that strike you in his performance?
MV: No, I think that's just what the expectation is for our best players. Our best players have to play good each and every week to give us a chance to win. It's not a secret. I've said that. They know that. That's professional sports.
Q: What are the stylistic differences between Kenneth Walker and Jadarian Price, and are there any specific areas where you would like to see the run defense improve since the last time you played Seattle?
MV: Yeah, I'm not going to compare a player that's not on their team to one that is. I know that Jadarian's got great speed. He's a slasher. He'll test edges. He's got great patience. But, I watched him circle guys up in college fairly easily. So, the speed, I think, is real, and whatever Kenneth does in Kansas City will be what he does.
Q: When you first started working with Drake [Maye], he had only started a handful of games. Now he's an MVP runner-up, been in a Super Bowl. He's in ads with Abercrombie and L.L. Bean. As his stature has grown, how have you seen him handle that?
MV: He's pretty grounded. I think he's very grounded. That's really all I can say is he's a pretty grounded guy, right? When I see him. His celebrity status is warranted, but he seems the same to me.
Q: Following up on Andrew's [Callahan] question about A.J., has he been everything you hoped he would be to this point in the calendar as you get the chance to work with him
MV: Yeah. Again, I think that the maturity has been probably what I have appreciated seeing on a daily basis. We had A.J. as a young player, continued that relationship personally, and I could sense that he was growing and making strides in that regard. But having him here, seeing him each and every day, the way that he communicates and where he's at in the training room. Just seeing his routine, his daily routine and the way that he talks to the young receivers or the way that he communicates with Todd [Downing], Josh [McDaniels] or the quarterback, I would say that that's probably a little different than the day-to-day person I saw as a young player.
Q: How have you seen his relationship with Drake develop over the summer, both on and off the field?
MV: Yeah, I think those connections are critical. Certainly, I try to tell them, if I was a receiver, I would know exactly what the quarterback wanted me to do on every pass play. The coach may have an opinion, I would really want to make sure that the guy throwing the ball, I knew what he wanted me to do. I think that continues to grow, and the connection off the field is obviously very important as well. But I see them talking about a route or something that they didn't necessarily maybe connect on, and I see them having a conversation. I also see guys like Romeo [Doubs] and Mack [Hollins] and all those guys getting in extra reps after the practice is over. They go back, and if there was maybe a correction, I see them making that correction with the quarterback, and they're doing that on their own.
Q: Do you think they can get to Mack and Efton's [Chism III] level?
MV: I don't think they can get that close, no.
