Patriots players finally addressed coach Mike Vrabel’s scandalous relationship with NFL insider Dianna Russini.
Days after Vrabel was publicly pressed about off-the-field life, he lived up to his word and addressed his team during their their voluntary offseason workout program.
“I thought he did a great job,” tight end Hunter Henry said. “He’s been the same Vrabes, bringing a lot of energy in the room.”
Henry, entering his 11th NFL season and sixth with the Patriots, told reporters he wasn’t dwelling on Vrabel’s off-the-field activities.
“I know you guys want to hear about everything that’s going on (with Vrabel), but to be honest with you, we’re just focused,” the 31-year-old said. “I’m focused on what we got going on right now in this building, with this team. Obviously, had a long season last year, quick turnaround into the offseason. We’re in a new building, and every year is a new year. So, we’re trying to build this team. We’re trying to come together. I’m just focused on the guys in this locker room and trying to build it from the ground up again. We got a long journey ahead of us, and we got to start somewhere. So, starting right now.”
The sentiment was echoed by fellow New England players.
“Coach coaches football, and he keeps the main thing the main thing,” linebacker Robert Spillane said Tuesday. “I know he’s dealing with personal issues, but when we’re in the building, we speak football.”
“I love Coach, and I’m going to be here to support him as he would be there to support me through anything.”
Vrabel is heading into his second season as the Patriots coach after leading the team to the Super Bowl and winning Coach of the Year honors along the way.
The focus in recent weeks, however, has shifted to his relationship with Russini, who resigned from her insider position at The Athletic after Page Six published photos of the pair — each married to other people — holding hands and sitting in a hot tub at an adults-only resort in Arizona, and then six-year-old images of them getting cozy in a Manhattan bar.
Vrabel, who won three Super Bowls as a player with the Patriots, spoke publicly for the first time about the controversy before last week’s NFL draft — after telling ESPN he would miss Day 3 of draft to seek counseling.
“I can only say that whatever my family needs, that’s what I’m going to provide,” Vrabel said. “But I also understand what’s needed for me here. This is an exciting time. We just finished our first week. Guys are excited. I see leaders developing, the new players that we brought on to the team, and I’m confident that if I weren’t able to be here, that we have people in place that can support them and do those things. So, I’m not sure what’s going to be needed of me, but I just know that I’m going to take the necessary steps with the people that I care about. That’s my family and this team.”
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