Patriots Mike Vrabel Reveals Start Date for Offseason Workouts

As the New England Patriots continue to clear their palate of the bitter taste left by their 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX, they already have their sights set on 2026.

With the commencement of the League year set for March 11, all 32 NFL teams, including the Patriots, are continuing to evaluate their rosters for the upcoming season. For the Patriots, the on-field defense of their 2025 AFC championship will begin on April 20 — when the team will reconvene for the start of their offseason workout program. Pats’ head coach Mike Vrabel confirmed the news while speaking with reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis.

“There's work to do. We're already back at the Combine, and this thing is rolling. Players will come in on April 20th. Again, we'll have to have a program in place that’s modified from one they just went through and whatever modifications that we make to that.”

Voluntary offseason workout programs are intended to provide training, teaching and physical conditioning for players. Per the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement, the voluntary nine-week offseason program is conducted in three phases:

The first phase of the program consists of activities including meetings, strength and conditioning and physical rehabilitation. These activities take place over the course of a two-week period.

During the second phase, teams are able to increase their activities to on-field workouts. For the Patriots, the workouts will take place in Foxborough over the next three weeks. They may include individual or group instruction and drills, as well as “perfect play drills,” and drills and plays with offensive players lining up across from offensive players and defensive players lining up across from defensive players, conducted at a walk through pace. No live contact or team offense versus team defense drills are permitted.

The third phase takes place over the final four weeks of the program. Teams may conduct a total of 10 days of organized team practice activity, otherwise known as OTAs. At this time, 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills are permitted without live contact.

Full-pads practices and contact drills will arrive when the Patriots regroup for training camp in late July.

Mike Vrabel is Ready to Lead the Patriots into 2026

Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel (right) talks to quarterback Drake Maye (10) during the fourth quarter against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images | Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

In only his first year at the helm in New England, Vrabel was named NFL Coach of the Year by the Associated Press, as well as the Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA). Vrabel led the Patriots to a 14-3 regular-season record, including a 10-game win streak from Weeks 4-13 in his first season coaching the franchise.

As such, he guided the Pats to their first AFC East division title since 2019, their 12th conference championship and is about to lead his team against the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl LX. It is their first appearance in the game since their run to their sixth Super Bowl title under Bill Belichick in the 2018 season.

To say that New England has thrived under Vrabel’s leadership may be an understatement. After consecutive 4-13 finishes in 2023 and 2024, the 50-year-old has instilled both an aggressive style of football on the field, as well as a culture of accountability throughout the team. Accordingly, the Patriots have become one of the most exciting and fundamentally-sound football teams in the league.

Vrabel’s leadership skills and coaching style have made him quite popular among his players — especially Drake Maye, his star quarterback and team captain. Although the 23-year-old was understandably sullen at the conclusion of the game, he still took time to praise his head coach — a man he deemed to be most responsible for New England’s success this season.

"He was the heartbeat. No doubt about that,” Maye said via ESPN. “He's the reason why we're here... He's a great person and a hell of a football coach."

Meticulous in his planning, yet familiar in his style of team management, Vrabel appears to have struck the proper note to ensure cohesion between the players, coaches and the front office. Still, he credits the bulk of his success to remaining focused on the next task.

As the good fortune he and the team enjoyed in 2025 blends into 2026, the ‘HC of the NEP’ wisely will not reinvent the wheel. Instead, he will reassemble his team and prepare them to defend their conference title. Most importantly, he is looking to build upon what he believes to be a strong foundation in southern New England.

”I've tried to say that this is a terrible ending to a pretty fantastic season, one that I enjoyed probably as much as any other season that I've been a part of,” Vrabel said with a smile. “Just from building it, enjoying coming to work, the relationships, bringing people together that were there in place, people that we brought in new, players that were there and staff that was there. Then also adding to that and knowing how delicate that can be. I enjoyed all that.”

As for his experience with this year’s Super Bowl loss to the Seahawks, the ‘HC of the NEP’ is wisely using that has motivation for upgrading the team this offseason.

“I think right now it's about, from a coaching standpoint, what we did well, how we can enhance it, the new ideas,” he added. “We have to have fresh ideas to what we're doing in all three phases. That's been my direction to the staff is to go through and focus on what we can do to enhance the core concepts, but also, I need to see some new ideas that maybe force us to push ourselves in a different direction.”

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