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Mike Vrabel (above) speaks at an NFL press conference Mike Florio Tuesday rated new questions about controversy tied to the recent Dianna Russini photos.

Mike Florio questioned Mike Vrabel’s counseling explanation after a new Dianna Russini photo surfaced during NFL draft weekend. New England Patriots head coach Vrabel was back at the team’s facility in Foxborough, Massachusetts, Monday. But his absence from the final day of the 2026 NFL Draft has generated more questions than answers, and Florio, founder of the NBC-owned Pro Football Talk, is pushing back hard on the official explanation.

Vrabel, who led the Patriots to their record 12th Super Bowl last season, announced last week that he would step away from the Patriots on Saturday, Day 3 of the draft, to seek counseling and focus on his family. The announcement came amid an ongoing controversy tied to reports about his relationship with former The Athletic NFL reporter Dianna Russini, who resigned from her position on April 14 after the outlet launched an internal investigation. Now, newly surfaced airport photos and Florio’s latest comments are reigniting questions about what really happened on draft weekend.

Florio raised pointed questions about the counseling explanation on Tuesday after The New York Post Page Six published photos of Vrabel alone at the Salt Lake City International Airport on Saturday, the same day he was scheduled to be in counseling sessions.

Mike Florio Questions Mike Vrabel’s Counseling Explanation

Florio asked the questions many NFL fans were already wondering.

“I don’t think this idea that skipping the third day of the draft to attend counseling ever really flew with anyone,” Florio said on PFT Live, according to Pro Football Network. “And when you throw in the fact that the New York Post now has photos of Mike Vrabel in the Salt Lake City Airport on Saturday — when was the counseling? Where was the counseling? What was really going on here?”

“When was the counseling? Where was the counseling? What was really going on here?”
Mike Florio

Florio placed the blame for the story’s longevity squarely on the Patriots organization, arguing that clumsy crisis management has kept the story alive.

“It’s their own fault for how they’ve mishandled this from the get-go,” Florio said of the Patriots on Pro Football Talk Tuesday. “It continues to be a story because it has been one PR debacle after another.”

ESPN initially reported Saturday that Vrabel would remain in constant contact with the Patriots draft room throughout Day 3. The network later walked that report back entirely, according to Pro Football Talk. Vrabel had no contact with the team that day.

Mike Vrabel Spotted in Utah During NFL Draft Absence

The Page Six photos published Monday show the New England Patriots head coach on Saturday browsing a Salt Lake City airport shop called Hip & Humble, where he selected a baby blue sweatsuit said in most media accounts to be a gift for his wife, Jen Vrabel. His wedding ring was visible throughout. Jen Vrabel was not spotted by photographers during the trip.

The Utah location is not entirely surprising. Vrabel disclosed in a 2025 interview with The Athletic that he and his wife own a home in Park City, Utah, where the family has spent time skiing and celebrating holidays. Still, the timing of the airport sighting, on the same day he was publicly committed to counseling, has sharpened scrutiny of his account and raised Florio’s skepticism.

“There are constantly new developments,” Florio said. “And it seems like every new development raises more questions and makes a strange situation seem even stranger.”

With Patriots OTAs beginning May 27, Vrabel’s next public appearance could bring even more questions if the controversy remains unresolved.