More Patriots Players Back Vrabel as Locker Room Tries to Move Past Russini Controversy

More Patriots players are now publicly backing Mike Vrabel as New England tries to move past the off-field controversy involving former NFL reporter Dianna Russini and keep the focus on football.

The latest support came from veteran safety Kevin Byard, who said Vrabel looks no different inside the building despite the public fallout that has followed him for weeks. “(He’s) the same old guy, honestly,” Byard said. “He’s the same guy that I recognize from being back in Tennessee, a guy that’s full of energy, coaching the entire team, running back and forth from offense, defense, special teams. I don’t see a difference whatsoever.”

That matters because Byard knows exactly what Vrabel looks like in a normal football setting. He played for him in Tennessee, so this is not some new teammate making a polite comment out of obligation. His point was that whatever noise exists outside the building has not changed how Vrabel is operating inside it.

Byard’s remarks add to what other Patriots players have already said in recent days. Quarterback Drake Maye also defended Vrabel, saying he does not expect the controversy to hurt the team and calling his coach “a great human being.” Maye said he loves playing for Vrabel and does not believe the situation will become a distraction for the Patriots heading into the season.

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Before that, team captains Hunter Henry and Robert Spillane addressed the matter after Vrabel spoke to the roster on April 21. Both said Vrabel directly discussed the Russini situation with the team, but neither offered much detail about the content of the speech. Their public tone, though, matched what Byard and Maye have now echoed: the locker room is not fracturing publicly over it.

The controversy itself has lingered because of a string of photos and reports involving Vrabel and Russini, including images from an adults-only resort in Sedona, Arizona. Reuters reported earlier that the NFL is not reviewing the situation and that no league action is expected. Vrabel has described the interactions as innocent, and Russini had also pushed back on the public narrative before resigning from The Athletic.

Vrabel also missed the final day of the NFL draft to attend counseling before returning to the team, which raised the temperature around the story for a moment and fueled more speculation about how much it might affect New England internally. But the consistent message from players who have spoken publicly has been that they still support him and are trying to keep the attention on football.

That does not mean the story has disappeared. It has not. But it does mean the Patriots’ locker room keeps sending the same signal every time someone is asked about it: Vrabel is still their coach, he is still operating the same way, and the players are not using the controversy as an excuse to splinter. Byard’s quote may have been the clearest version of that yet, because he flatly dismissed the idea that Vrabel has changed at all.

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