For the most part, New England Patriots players had been able to avoid publicly speaking about the ongoing controversy involving head coach Mike Vrabel and longtime NFL reporter Dianna Russini.
That changed on Tuesday when Patriots tight end Hunter Henry and linebacker Robert Spillane were made available to media members.
Hunter Henry declined to share what Mike Vrabel said to Patriots players amid Dianna Russini controversy
While addressing the team behind the scenes ahead of the 2026 NFL Draft, Vrabel reportedly apologized “for bringing unwanted attention” and also “promised that he’d make it right and do all he could to put the focus back on the players.” On Tuesday, Henry insisted that Vrabel “did a great job” in that particular moment.
“It’s been the same Vrabes, bringing a lot of energy in the room, so, yeah, obviously, he addressed it. And, that’s all I’ll say about it,” Henry added about Vrabel’s message on April 20, per Karen Guregian of MassLive.
Russini resigned
from her role of covering the NFL for The Athletic not long after photos surfaced showing her and Vrabel spending time together at an Arizona resort in late March. Last week, new pictures emerged showing Vrabel and Russini sharing a kiss and “sitting very close to each other” at a New York City bar in March 2020.
Vrabel spent the final day of the draft away from the Patriots so that he reportedly could participate in counseling. He returned to work on Monday.
“Coach coaches football,” Spillane said. “[Vrabel] keeps the main thing the main thing. I know he’s dealing with personal issues. But when we’re in the building, we speak football.”
Will Mike Vrabel controversy impact his relationships with his players?
Spillane was asked if the story that continues to hover over the Patriots throughout this spring is impacting Vrabel’s relationships with New England players or his ability to serve as a leader for a team that is coming off a tough Super Bowl loss.
“I think everyone’s personal relationship with coach is their personal relationship with coach,” Spillane responded. “That’s not for me to speak on. I love coach, and I’m going to be here to support him as he would be there to support me for anything.”
Less than an hour before the draft got underway, Vrabel suggested he could miss more than just one day of work if he feels his “family needs” him. It remains unclear if he has any other absences planned as of the final Tuesday of April.
“I know you guys want to hear about everything that’s going on,” Henry acknowledged while carefully touching upon the Vrabel-related subject. “To be honest with you, I’m just focused on what we got going on right now in this building with this team. Obviously, we had a long season last year. A quick turnaround into the offseason, and we’re in a new building. And every year’s a new year. We’re trying to build this team, we’re trying to come together. So I’m just focused on the guys in this locker room and trying to build it up again. We’ve got a long journey ahead of us. We’ve got to start somewhere. So we’re starting right now.”
Tuesday was only the beginning as it pertains to New England players being asked questions about a topic they likely will be reluctant to speak about over the next handful of days, weeks and months.