Mike Vrabel Isn't Letting Off-The-Field Stories Impact Patriots Draft

The 2026 NFL Draft runs from April 23 to April 25, but for the New England Patriots — headlines and social media noise have been abundant. Not about the upcoming draft and prospects, but instead of a recent report surrounding head coach Mike Vrabel and NFL reporter Dianna Russini.

At his press conference on April 21, Vrabel pointed out to the media that recent developments have not strayed his focus away from his priority: The upcoming draft.

"I also don't want to take away from the draft, the weekend of the draft, this is an important time for us, organization, and the excitement and the joy that those players are going to have that we bring onto our football team," Vrabel said. "They're starting an amazing journey, one that should be celebrated as we welcome them onto our team."

Mike Vrabel Seeking Focus on 2026 NFL Draft Following Dianna Russini Report

The Page Six story from earlier this month showed the separately married pair of Vrabel and Russini — The Athletic's former lead NFL reporter — photographed at a luxury hotel in Arizona embracing and holding hands near the time of NFL league meetings. Following the publication of the report, Russini resigned from her position with The Athletic. This week was the first time Vrabel addressed the situation for the first time with the media following these events.

Within his first few sentences of his opening statement, Vrabel directly said he does not want recent events to shift the narrative away from the upcoming draft and what it means for the future of New England.

ESPN, The Athletic NFL Reporter Dianna Russini — Feb 10, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Dianna Russini appears on the red carpet prior to the NFL Honors awards presentation at YouTube Theater. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

"We believe in order to be successful on and off the field, you have to make good decisions. That includes me, that starts with me. We never want our actions to negatively infect affect the team. We never want to be the cause of a distraction," Vrabel said.

"Those are comments and questions that I've answered for the team and with the team, we'll keep those private and to ourselves. (I) care deeply about this football team and am excited to coach them. I also know that I'm going to attack each day with humility and focus. And what I can promise you is that the my family, this organization, the team, the staff, the coaches, everybody, our fans, most importantly, will get the best version of me going forward."

The Patriots have several needs across the board. Edge rusher and linebacker, a need often connected with the team, is likely set to be addressed this weekend. Players like edge rusher Cashius Howell of Texas A&M and linebacker Harold Perkins Jr. of LSU are among two of the top prospect names currently being mocked to the Patriots.

"We're excited to bring these guys onto our team this week," Vrabel said. "However we can add them through the draft, the post draft, it's important that you're going to have a lot of excitement on Thursday, Friday, Saturday."

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