photos were published<\/a> of him with longtime NFL reporter Dianna Russini at an Arizona resort.<\/p>\nAs to whether he anticipated missing any more time with the team this spring, the coach said he couldn’t predict the future.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can only tell you I\u2019m going to be there today. I can\u2019t tell you anything other than I\u2019m going to be out there today in full force,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd I mean that because who knows what\u2019s going to come up? Anything could happen. So, I\u2019m going to focus on today and the excitement that we\u2019ve had and that we\u2019ve built so far.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Patriots were on the field for the first of seven voluntary practices leading into next month\u2019s mandatory three-day minicamp.<\/p>\n
There were some notable absences, including cornerback Christian Gonzalez and receiver Kayshon Boutte. Gonzalez is eligible for a contract extension, and Boutte\u2019s name has come up in rumored trade discussions as the Patriots possibly look to add a top name pass catcher.<\/p>\n
But Vrabel said his attention is on the 44 new players that have been added to the roster through free agency and the draft.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a great opportunity, the spring, we don\u2019t have to worry about opponents, our schedule is pretty much the same,\u201d Vrabel said. \u201cThe players just have a routine and each and every day in the spring is similar. But it\u2019s just about teaching, it\u2019s about teaching these guys the scheme. … So that\u2019s what the spring time is about. And that\u2019s really all we know, is being able to coach these guys and to teach them, help them do their job.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked if he feels like the players have been responding to his leadership this spring, Vrabel said he\u2019s tried to be the same presence he\u2019s always been.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want to speak for the players,\u201d Vrabel said. \u201cI feel great. I feel like I\u2019m trying to give them the information that (is going to) help them do their job. I\u2019ve talked about this as far as the importance of the balance between their own success, which leads to great things for them and the people that they care about. But then also trying to manage that with the team and that\u2019s a fine balance of the dynamic that we wage in this business of professional sports. And I try to do that each day.\u201d<\/p>\n
That extends to him, Vrabel said, describing his work-life balance as going well.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy family is great. I love (wife) Jen (Vrabel). I love the boys. I love my personal friends,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd then, this spring is focused on really the coaching staff, the players, more importantly than the coaching staff.\u201d<\/p>\n
Potential addition?<\/p>\n
Following wide receiver Stefon Diggs\u2019 release in March, the Patriots have been mum about the possibility of pursuing another top receiver to take his place.<\/p>\n
That extends to the possibly of working a trade for receiver A.J. Brown, whose future remains uncertain in Philadelphia. Brown played for Vrabel in Tennessee, and their potential reunion has been a hot topic this offseason.<\/p>\n
Nothing has happened to date. But Vrabel didn\u2019t close the door on adding a pair of hands for quarterback Drake Maye before training camp opens this summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to continue to improve the roster every opportunity that we get. When those opportunities arise, I don\u2019t know. I know that the guys that we have here are working extremely hard,\u201d Vrabel said.<\/p>\n
Defensive tackle Milton Williams, who played with Brown in Philadelphia, said it is hard not to imagine the possibly of Brown in New England.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see the noise. You see it,\u201d Williams said. \u201cHe can definitely help our team. But they don’t pay me to do that (be a general manager).\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP NFL: https:\/\/apnews.com\/NFL<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) \u2014 After a controversial start to the offseason that saw Mike Vrabel the subject of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":711977,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,393,394],"class_list":["post-711976","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-mental-health","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-mental-health","tag-mentalhealth"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711976","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=711976"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/711976\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/711977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=711976"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=711976"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=711976"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}