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CBS Sports ranked the New England Patriots as having the third worst offseason in the NFL, largely due to the Mike Vrabel scandal.
It’s been a rollercoaster of an offseason for the New England Patriots, with plenty of good to go with plenty of bad. Now, with some time to take in how things went this offseason, CBS Sports came back incredibly negative on the offseason as a whole, ranking it the third-worst in the entire NFL.
Jordan Dajani of CBS Sports came up with the five worst offseasons. According to him, only the Arizona Cardinals and Jacksonville Jaguars had a worse time than the Patriots. That is, in large part, because of the Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini scandal.
“There’s a narrative that some are afraid to address the Mike Vrabel drama,” Dajani wrote. “It’s the biggest story of the offseason, yes, but we also deal in facts, and neither party will come out and admit what we saw in the photos published by the New York Post/Page Six. We have a resignation letter from Dianna Russini and worthless word salad from the Patriots head coach in his press conferences instead.”
The concerns about the Vrabel-Russini scandal have run deep. That includes how it affected his ability to prepare for the NFL Draft and how it changes things within the Patriots locker room. Only time will tell how he overcomes it, but it left questions for CBS Sports and Dajani, at least.
“This became a bona fide football story when Vrabel stepped out of the office for the final day of the 2026 NFL Draft, but this is also a leader of men who was shamed for a major personal mistake,” Dajani wrote. “Alleged mistake. Vrabel would love for this story to fade away, but has his confidence taken a hit? What about the way his players view him? The reigning NFL Coach of the Year was always seen as a hard-nosed, authoritative figure capable of getting the most out of his players. How about now? To make a list of NFL teams that had the worst offseasons and not include the Patriots would be disingenuous.”
GettyNew England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel
Beyond the Mike Vrabel situation, CBS Sports had other concerns about the New England Patriots. In particular, with what should be a more difficult schedule than the one they won the AFC East against a season ago.
“To make matters worse, the Patriots are the prime regression candidate in 2026. After going 14-3 last season with help from the easiest schedule since the turn of the millennium, the Patriots have the sixth-toughest schedule in 2026, including the toughest Weeks 1-4 strength of schedule by any team in 40 years,” Dajani wrote.
“They open with a Super Bowl rematch against the Seahawks, then face the Pittsburgh Steelers, travel to the Jacksonville Jaguars and visit the Buffalo Bills. All four teams made the playoffs last year.”
A tougher schedule was bound to happen, having gone to the Super Bowl instead of finishing at the bottom of their division. However, it’s also hard to say that’s something that went right or wrong for the Patriots during the offseason.
GettyNew England Patriots EVP Eliot Wolf
There have been some major moves already for the Patriots’ roster this offseason. That included the A.J. Brown trade and the addition of Romeo Doubs to revamp the wide receiver room, neither of which CBS Sports touched upon.
At the same time, the offseason isn’t over for the Patriots either. There are still a few months to keep adding to the roster and making major moves.
One move that’s been consistently rumored is that the Patriots are looking to extend star cornerback Christian Gonzalez. That hasn’t happened yet, but it could be coming soon. One GM even said, “That one gets done before the season. He’ll get paid.” So, it does sound like they’ll be able to hang their hat on that this offseason as well.
There have been other trade rumors as well. That includes potential moves for wide receiver Kayshon Boutte, as well as trades for edge rushers, like Maxx Crosby, or even signing veterans like Joey Bosa, which could be a major boost to the offseason, too.
Simply put, there are still months before the regular season kicks off. So, the Patriots have time to adjust the narrative moving forward.
Dan Morrison After graduating from UMass in 2019, Dan Morrison quickly began a career in sports journalism and digital media. That has seen him work both as a contributing writer at several publications, as well as spending time on the National News Desk at On3. During that time, he has spent the majority of his time covering football, both at the college and NFL levels. Currently residing in Central Florida, his focus with Heavy is on the NFL. More about Dan Morrison
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