Patriots HC Mike Vrabel Transcript 6/10

PATRIOTS HEAD COACH MIKE VRABEL

PRESS CONFERENCE

June 10, 2026

 

 

Q: I know it’s early, but what have you seen from the Drake [Maye] and A.J. [Brown] connection?

MV: I mean, again, I think that they found each other a couple times yesterday in the red zone, and I think that’s a work in progress. I think that is just how it goes from having a player come in. I think that connection is critical to rely on. A quarterback and receiver have to be on the same page. Practice is critical, the reps are critical. Sometimes when you get players that have had success in this league and they come onto your team, you get an opportunity to learn what’s worked for them and what they have been able to pick up over the years of doing it. So, there is some professional initiative. I think we have that in every facet of our program when the players go out there, whether it is Kevin Byard [III] or Dre’Mont Jones, they say, “Can we do it this way?” Yeah, sure, as long as we are all on the same page. So, I think that will happen with Drake and A.J. as well. There will be some things that maybe he has done before that he likes, and there will be things that we will add new to him.

 

Q: How much does it help, Mike, in year two with you, the staff and many of the players returning for minicamp like this?

MV: What you guys have seen is really what we have done. I mean, maybe an hour and a half longer day. That is what a normal OTA looks like, an OTA practice. We have got to get them out of here in a certain time, so we have a little bit more time for meetings and our walkthrough. But that is what it has looked like, and I think that, to your point, it has probably looked better in the spring. That does not mean a whole lot other than that maybe that they understand how we need to practice, what we want to do, the urgency and tempo in which we practice and all those habits that we try to create that are positive now. To that point, today will probably look a little different. It probably won’t be as much speed stuff, but we will come back and get that same speed that we had yesterday further down in the red zone tomorrow. So, it will look a little different today, just by design, as far as the pace that you will see. But to your point, I was happy with whatever pace we had yesterday.

 

Q: Mike, with Morgan Moses, we saw him leave OTAs early last week and then he was not out there yesterday. Is he dealing with an injury or is this more of veteran rest? What is going on?

MV: We are just managing Morgan and are excited that he is so committed to our football team and the people here. Just a positive addition last year, and he will have a plan through training camp. It’s a long season. He was important to us, and he will be very important to us going forward. So, just trying to make sure that we manage him. Figure that every rep now is probably one less that he may take in the season. We want to try to get him to a point where he is ready to go and give each guy exactly what they need. Everybody will have a plan.

 

Q: How has [Caleb] Lomu adjusted to being on the right side?

MV: Again, he is getting a lot of reps. I love the versatility. I think when you get a young player, their willingness to learn and just adapt and adjust. There hasn’t been, “Oh my gosh, I’m so used to this.” I think it’s all new to him. So, his flexibility and versatility has been something that I think has stood out. He learns quickly, usually doesn’t make the same mistake twice. And it is different, so the guys that you are trying to put in different places and say, “You have got to get as much reps on the left as you do on the right,” that’s important. So, he has done a nice job of that.

 

Q: Mike, as a player and a coach, how important the mental aspect of this game is. How good is this group now in the second year of absorbing what you teach them in the classroom and translating it to what they do on the field?

MV: I think there is always going to be mistakes. I think our job is to coach, correct mistakes and find ways to teach them. The things that are non-negotiable are just the way that we play, our style, the conditioning and our ability to finish consistently when you do make a mistake. Some of the most instinctive players that I have been around have been able to do that. They have been able to make a mistake early on in the play formationally, but they get it fixed, get it adjusted. They run the wrong route, block the wrong guy, but still find a way to salvage the play. So, those are the things that we are working on. We can coach mistakes and we can correct them; we just can’t make too many of the same mistakes.

 

Q: Mike, would you like to add a tight end after Julian [Hill]’s injury?

MV: Just from a numbers standpoint at camp, I think that is somewhere where we will probably have to evaluate the numbers. I mean, there are 90, 91 guys on every team, so we will just have to take a look at that. But I would say that is probably somewhere where we would have to address.

 

Q: What have been your impressions of Eli Raridon so far?

MV: Willing, conscientious, wants to learn. I think there are a lot of new things coming from college. Terminology is different and there are a lot of things that are new to him, but I would say that he picks things up quickly. When he is able to play with the speed that he has available to him in his body, that has kind of showed out. Then with a lot of these young guys, just the terminology, the routes, the coverage, just try to eliminate and allow them to play as fast as possible. So, in the spring it’s like, “Hey, let us try to play out of control, let us play too fast.” Then if you make a mistake, that is fine. But we have got to start training that play speed so that when we do grasp everything really well, the play speed is there. It’s not something that we should learn what to do and go slow. We have to play at a play speed that we are going to need in the games, and the ability to separate or get open. So, that has been a focus that we have tried to ask him to do, is as you learn, play a little faster, and if you make mistakes, we will coach them. But we have to play with a certain speed.

 

Q: What have you seen from Carlton Davis [III] going into his second year with you guys?

MV: CD [Carlton Davis III] is a great teammate. He is a competitive player. As you continue to gain years in this league, you have to continue to find – especially at those speed positions, you have to find some different pitches. You have to find some minor adjustments and tweaks, and I know that he is continuing to focus on that and do that. But he’s a competitive player, he’s a competitive person, and [I’m] excited to have him back.

 

Q: How do you envision Shane Bowen contributing to the staff?

MV: Well, Shane’s got a lot of experience in how we do things. He has been very valuable to me, personally, going back to Ohio State. We learned how to coach together. And that is a thing I will always appreciate about Shane, is that we learned how to coach. I’m proud of what he has done in this league, and am excited about him being here and helping us. He assists the defense and helps some of the young guys. Excited about Kevin Richardson and BJ Edmonds – those are younger coaches on our staff – that those guys can go to Shane, ask him and rely on him to fill in the gaps, maybe while some of the other coaches have something going on or they’re meeting with players. But I think just having another guy that has called plays in this league and has game planned will be able to provide assistance offensively. But I think it will help us.

 

Q: Mike, understanding the attention and maybe gravity that A.J. brings at receiver, how much of the playbook has been adjusted for that since he got here?

MV: I think we are probably a little early for that. I think that the adjustments can come. It has been maybe a week. So, I think it is learning what we do, the formations. There are so many different formations, personnel groups. I think we have to get that down first before we start going on to adjustments and, “What are we going to do?” But that will all be part of it.

 

Q: Mike, in the wide receiver room, you also have a lot of young wide receivers and some UDFAs you signed this season. What are you looking for in practices to make them earn a spot on the roster? What more could they contribute?

MV: Well, I mean, it is always being ready for your opportunity. But again, watching and seeing Kyle [Williams]’ development and Chiz [Efton Chism III] taking advantage of his opportunities, that is just one position. Then being able to add the guys that we did in the post draft. Like I told them yesterday, when we have those different periods and they get extra reps, they have to take advantage of them. When you do a good job and a nice job, you get more opportunity. The more positions that you know, I think, certainly, would help them. If they don’t, then they just have to learn the ones that they can. But you just never know in a preseason game, a practice or a scrimmage, when that opportunity is going to come. Just like Chiz last year in some of those preseason games and what he was able to do. So, we try to give them the blueprint, and then they can make it what they can.

 

Q: Mike, would you guys ever consider bringing [Stefon] Diggs back?

MV: I mean, I think we are probably at the number that we would need right now. I would not say anything is off the table. We would want to add anybody that could help us. I am not going to give a percentage on it, but I think we are happy with where we are at right now with the numbers and the people in the receiver room. I appreciate Stefon as a person, as a player and what he did for us last year. I value that. He helped us win football games, helped us get to where we got. But right now I don’t think that that is something that I think we are exploring. But I would never say no.

 

Q: Mike, yesterday you said the defensive side, spring’s the time to test different plays and disguises before parting things down. What usually determines a defensive new idea that survives into training camp? Is that player feel, execution, communication or some other things?

MV: Well, I think it’s everything. It is how it fits and what the players can understand. That is the most important thing, what they are comfortable with, what they show you on the field and their ability to handle it, to understand it. You don’t want to get too cute. This game is not about getting cute, it is about having answers, trying and doing some new things, and enhancing some things. But we don’t want to get cute when you add ideas, whether that is offensively, defensively or on special teams. So, I think you start by what the players can handle, take a look at it and see how it gets tested over the course of the spring like we talked about. Or when you get to training camp and you are starting to see more, closer to live action.

 

Q: Back to A.J. Brown. Since the last time you worked with him, is there anything that has surprised you, that he has added to his game or tweaked at all? Or has it been same old, same old with A.J.?

MV: I mean, I think there is still savvy that has improved. He was a younger player when we were together, that continued to develop and improve. So, maybe there is a little bit of savvy, but I think he has showed up with a great attitude, and I have enjoyed watching his interactions with the other players on the team. I think that is probably the thing that I’m most excited about right now.

 

Q: Mike, what is the biggest difference you have seen in Elijah Ponder from the Super Bowl to the guy you are working with now?

MV: I think maybe confidence of, “I am actually here, I am actually doing this again. I didn’t go through the post draft process, and I know what I am comfortable with what the practices are going to be and the meetings.” Young players that work hard and have a full offseason to train, sometimes that’s a great window of opportunity for a guy that is 22, 23 years old, to make some significant improvement in their speed, in their strength, explosion. So, hopefully that is what we will see. I would include Bradyn Swinson. I think those two are kind of in the same category. I think Bradyn has done a nice job of working hard in the offseason, knowing what it is that we are looking for, what he is going to need to do to help himself and help our football team.

 

 

 

Transcripts are provided by the Patriots media relations department as a courtesy to the media and are edited for readability. All press conferences are posted and archived in their entirety on patriots.com. The duplication or posting of this transcript in its entirety as original content is prohibited. Media are encouraged to link to the complete transcript on patriots.com when sharing full quotes with their audiences.