Patriots HC Mike Vrabel Transcript 10/26
PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL
PRESS CONFERENCE
October 26, 2026
Q: There’s a couple of guys – Greg Van Roten, one of them – are eligible to be put on the clock. Will we see him this week?
MV: We probably won’t see him today, but maybe this week. We’ll see where that goes. Those guys, I think him and Dell [Pettus] are eligible, potentially, to try to get back out there and see where that goes. But we’ll have to make a decision with Marcus Bryant, so we’ll probably give us through today here. See where guys progress and go from there.
Q: Mike, what goes into managing IR for you the rest of the season with the limited number of return spots?
MV: Probably just the depth that you have at the position or the need. I don’t think it’s something that you really want to make a habit of, but we’re in the position that we are. So, figuring out who’s healthy enough to return. Some guys aren’t. Then we’ll see where we go with the depth at each position.
Q: There’s a report out there that you guys decided to move on from Bryce Baringer as the punter. Can you comment on that?
MV: I certainly appreciate what Bryce has been able to do for us. Those are tough decisions. I don’t think those are things that you’d necessarily take lightly. But once you kind of get the specialists, the snap or the hold and all the stuff that they do. We just felt like this was best for us, best for Bryce, and to give him an opportunity to go punt and see if somebody needs a punter. If we would need him back and he was there, then we would want to have him back. You just make a decision with a specialist, and as long as it’s going well, which I think it is, and everybody else does, you just stick with it.
Q: How much do you want to take care of a guy like Bryce in that situation, Mike, for what he’s meant to you guys?
MV: Well, I mean, I think it’s kind of twofold. It’s just give him an opportunity to go kick and have an opportunity to go work out. There’s a lot of things that he’ll be able to do now not being on IR.
Q: Mike, what have you liked about Mitch Wishnowsky?
MV: This was a while ago. Mitch, he’s punted a lot of games in the National Football League. He’s punted, could flip the field.
Q: From what you’ve seen this season, what have you liked?
MV: I think that he gets it off quickly. I think the plus-50s have improved. He’s got different punts and different kicks that he uses, and I think he’s been pretty consistent. I think the hang time’s been pretty good.
Q: Mike, Alijah [Vera-Tucker], you put him on IR on Thursday. Is that something that you guys are hopeful is a short-term thing?
MV: I don’t think it’s for the season, but I couldn’t tell you what short-term is determined by, however many weeks he has to be out. It wasn’t going to be this week, so we figured it was going to be at least four games, so that’s why we made the decision that we made.
Q: As far as your $250,000 fine, how is that explained to you?
MV: I don’t have any comment. Those things are supposed to be held in strict confidence, so I’m not going to comment.
Q: Are you under the impression that it could be rescinded with good behavior?
MV: Again, I can’t comment. I think it’s best just to talk to the league. They seem to have plenty to say already about it. I would say this about the officiating, and I’ve said this numerous times: the second hardest thing to do on Sundays is officiate. They do a great job, and it’s not easy. We have to understand they’re part of the game, and I think that they do, like everybody else, the best that they possibly can. There’s going to be bad calls by coaches, there’s going to be bad plays by players, and then once in a while, an official’s going to miss one. Again, how we respond to those things is critical. So, I enjoy when they have conversations with me and can explain exactly what it is that they saw or they follow up with another official, and as long as I get an explanation about what they saw, then I have to be okay with that. I would say for the most part I am. I like the ones that are willing to communicate and say, “Hey, this is what I saw,” they do it, they’re decisive about it and they’re confident. We can always go back and second guess, but it’s not an easy job and I think they do really well.
Q: Even though the game was Thursday, I have a Monday question for you about the game. The fourth down that you guys went for early in the game there, why was that the choice?
MV: We try to be aggressive. It’s something that we felt like we want to continue to do. We would’ve liked to have better execution, but we’ve had a lot of success doing that. I don’t want to be a results-based analytics person here and say, “We didn’t get it, so we shouldn’t have gone for it.” We’ve had a lot of success with that. That’s something that we feel like when we can work our way across midfield, once we’re in that area, if there’s things that we like, we’ve done well there. So, I was disappointed that we weren’t able to get it, but I would imagine we’ll still try to continue to do it.
Q: With Malik Willis this week, obviously drafted by Tennessee in 2022. What was it like working with him?
MV: It was great. Malik’s continued to develop, and that’s the thing that I’m proud of him for, and I know that he should be proud of himself to continue to battle and go to Green Bay. I try to stay in communication with him, tell him congrats and that I’m happy for him, and then he gets a deal in Miami. He’s very talented. He’s got a strong arm, can throw at different platforms. He’s a strong runner. I think he’s starting to see things a little quicker, a little clearer, just as he’s developed in the NFL.
Q: It seemed like Drake [Maye] made several plays off script the other night. How valuable is that skill set for you guys?
MV: I think you see it on the other side of the game there offensively for Chicago. Just looking back, the plays that Caleb [Williams] made off script, and certainly I value that from Drake and his ability to extend plays. Sometimes you can’t block them all, or you don’t block them very well at all. Sometimes somebody makes a play, and Drake extends and either runs or keeps his eyes down the field like he did a few times there when we needed to have some plays.
Q: Mike, how have you felt about A.J.’s [Brown] performance in the run game?
MV: We know it takes all 11. A receiver’s job is critical to be able to protect the guy who has the ball and how well they play without the ball. So, I would say offensively, we have to do a better job, and that includes A.J. That includes the quarterback coming out with play fakes. That’s what it takes in the run game.
Q: Mike, given the injury situation, do you anticipate being active before the trade deadline in a couple weeks?
MV: We’re going to try to do everything we can to help the team. I don’t know if we will or we won’t. I would imagine that we’ll try to do everything that we can to help us, within reason, and makes sense for us. I don’t know how you want to interpret that, but I’m sure we’ll listen and talk, just like everybody else does.
Q: Could you see Matt Pryor being the long-term answer at right guard for you guys?
MV: Yeah. Matt’s done a nice job. Matt’s come in, he’s protected well. I think that he’s still getting comfortable, but he’s big in there. He’s tough to get around. He’s got heavy hands, and he gives us a chance most of the time. I really like his attitude, the way that he’s come in and just tried to learn everything pretty quickly. We’re talking about guys that have been here from April on, and he’s been here for three weeks and tried to be ready to go.
Q: What do you like about his process?
MV: Again, he studies hard, he works, he comes in early, he stays late. It means a lot to him, and he tries to take advantage of his opportunities.
Q: With Ben Brown, he was one that you guys didn’t place on IR. Do you feel like he has a chance to practice this week?
MV: I think Ben might be out there.
Q: Mike, how would you evaluate the run game last week and to this point now that you’ve gotten to see the film?
MV: Like about everything else we do, sometimes it looks okay and sometimes it’s not good enough. It’s inconsistent. But we’ve had some good runs. We took the ball against the Jets and went five minutes, and those runs looked pretty good. There are other times where I don’t think it looks very good at all. So, I’d say like a lot of things that we’ve done up until this point that it’s been okay and then not consistent enough.
Q: Coach, facing Jeff Hafley this week, I know your son, Tyler, played for him at Boston College. Did you get to know him at all?
MV: I know Jeff. He’s a very good football coach. I know Tyler enjoyed the time that he had there with him. Jeff’s coached in the NFL, coached at Ohio State. He’s an excellent football coach. He understands defense and certainly has a vision that he wants to head with. He was able to get his first win the other day. I’m sure that’ll be something that he’ll never forget, having been in that position.
Q: When it comes to sight adjustments by the receivers, how have you felt they’ve performed in that regard? Are they where Drake needs them to be and when, when those things need to happen?
MV: Nothing’s 100%, and there are some protections where we need to sight adjust and some where we don’t. So, I think that the communication between the quarterback and the receiver, and us knowing when we need to sight adjust and then when we don’t is critical. To say it’s been 100%, that’s not accurate. Nothing will ever be. So, we’ll continue to look at it. A lot of times, when we’re able to see them, unfortunately those are mistakes. If we can come back, get it corrected and find a way to help us down the road, that’ll be most important. It’ll be how we are able to react and understand when we’re in that position again. Whether that’s a pressure and protection, or the receiver’s ability to – when they have to make an adjustment on a certain route or defensively a correction that we’re making here from the game, that we can make it and move on and try to help us.
Q: Christian Barmore, we saw him go down in that game against the Bears. Was that anything long-term or is he good to go?
MV: I think he was just tired. No, I think he’ll be fine.
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