Patriots to Hold Their Pre-NFL Draft Presser Without Mike Vrabel

Patriots coach Mike Vrabel will not take part in the team’s pre-NFL Draft press conference Monday afternoon, as fallout continues from the controversial leaked photos of Vrabel and Dianna Russini, a senior NFL insider for The Athletic.

Vrabel isn’t expected to address reporters until the draft, according to ESPN. 

The 2026 NFL Draft is being held in Pittsburgh, on April 23-25. NFL coaches and GMs typically work the draft from their own team facilities, and often meet with local reporters after each round of the three-day draft.

Patriots EVP of player personnel Eliot Wolf will hold New England’s predraft press conference Monday at 2 p.m. ET, which will be the first event open to the media at the team’s new 160,000-square-foot training facility.

Last year, Vrabel conducted a pre-draft press conference on the Tuesday before the week of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Developing Situation

Vrabel and Russini have been under fire since the New York Post’s Page Six published photos on April 7 that appear to show the Patriots coach “holding hands and hugging” with Russini at an Arizona resort.

Those photos were shopped around before they were ultimately published by the New York Post, sources previously told Front Office Sports. 

The Athletic, which is owned by the New York Times, is investigating Russini’s explanation about the photos, sources told FOS. 

“The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day,” Russini said in a statement to FOS sent via The Athletic. “Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues.” 

Russini is sidelined during the probe, according to a source familiar with it, and her byline has not appeared on the website since April 7. 

The Patriots have not made any comments on the situation. “These photos show a completely innocent interaction and any suggestion otherwise is laughable,” Vrabel previously told the New York Post.