TRANSCRIPT: Mike Vrabel Press Conference 8/18
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Here’s what head coach Mike Vrabel had to say during his press conference on Monday, August 18, 2025:
On the fact that while he likes to go day-to-day, if he has a plan for who might play and who might not play on Thursday and if he will have regulars playing or if he’ll hold them out:
“I think with the quick turnaround, I think we’ll have to just manage some of those reps. But yes, obviously, try to have a plan. Quick turnaround. These are going to be two important days here. We got to get back out here. We’ll be in the red zone today. Then there’ll be a group of guys that get a lot of reps tomorrow that are going to be good, important reps. But based on how that goes, that’ll tell me a lot for Thursday night.”
On how much of that is evaluation or is ‘most of the hay in the barn?’
“No, I mean, I don’t think that that’s ever… We’re always trying to evaluate and improve. Can’t see a scenario where we never not want to do that and continue to try to improve the roster or continue to evaluate who we think is going to give us the best chance to win, and also who has shown enough to want to work with on the practice squad or who could…Again, we’ve talked about the different types of players that maybe you end up on the practice squad throughout the league, whether that’s a young developmental player or maybe somebody that can be called up for the game quickly on short notice.”
On after watching the film, how he felt Will [Campbell] performed in the game:
“I think he did fine.”
On how he reconciles practice performances versus preseason performance, speaking specifically to [Javon] Baker and [Anfernee] Jennings. It seems like Baker shows up in 11-on-11s here but then in the games he had a hard time getting going:
“Well, we don’t ever underestimate the performance in the game in live-action. I don’t think Javon … would have liked to have been able to connect on some of those passes and those targets. He stuck with it. I liked where his attitude was and his ability to play on special teams. Then, even late in the game, to try to block. We threw a screen out there to Jiles, and he’s attached, and he’s trying to finish, and then found a reception there late. I think that shows some growth. I think that could be for a young player when it doesn’t go your way early, I think maybe it could have been an opportunity to kind of just pack it up. I didn’t see that from him. Again, my indication to that is the fact that late in the game, we threw a screen to Jiles, as I mentioned, and he’s blocking, he’s finishing, he’s trying to make sure that he’s protecting the guy with the ball. Sometimes it doesn’t always go the way that you anticipate, or maybe the stats don’t indicate that. Then for Anfernee, just taking advantage of the opportunity that he got and helped us win.”
On the fact he said that after the game he wanted to talk to the medical staff on Kyle [Williams], Isaiah [Iton], and maybe even Efton [Chism III] and what their status is of those three:
“I would not anticipate any of those out here today, and we’ll see what their availability. … Iton will not play in the game. So that one I know for sure. And then the other guys we’ll continue to evaluate.”
On with offensive linemen playing new positions like Vederian [Lowe], Ben [Brown], and Cole [Strange] how much stock he puts into the limited sample he has of them at new positons and if there’s any other part of the evaluation besides them just being on the field:
“I mean, I think at some point in time, you’re going to have to play more than one position. And swing tackle or tackles that aren’t starting the game are probably going to have to play left and right. So we’re going to continue to work with Vederian and get him some more snaps over there at the right. I hope that that will be better. I understand that when you’re on one side and you hear calls and a play means something, and then you’re on the right, what your job is on the other side may sound simple, but when it’s quick, I can at least appreciate where some of the maybe miscommunication or the assignment could get mixed up from play to play. So just getting them comfortable over there to be able to evaluate him at both sides.”
On if Minnesota’s late movement with their defensive line affects some of that too:
“Well, that’s what movement is going to be. It’s going to be on the snap. Sometimes in a run game, we’re going to have to be able to do that. They’re not just going to stand still on us. Sometimes we caught them, and sometimes we didn’t. So there were examples where the movement, we were able to block it and gain yards in the run game and other times where we weren’t.”
On the fact he’s talked a lot about not wanting to see guys repeat mistakes, and if he feels like Drake, in terms of his judgment and just ball security, has shown a lot of that, and how far does he feel like his progress is at this point:
“Well, I think that we have to be able to connect on passes like the one to Pop [Douglas]. Just making make sure that both the receiver and the quarterback are on the same page and that the ball placement is where it needs to be. I would say the tipped balls, especially ones that are over the middle of the field or towards the middle of the field, are going to end up intercepted. He’s continuing to improve and continued to help us and I like where he’s at. We just got to fix that. We talked to him about not taking a senseless hit outside the pocket on second and 10. If there’s nobody there, throw it away. We’ll try to convert on third down and just being smart and understanding those little details. Then we talked about late in the game there with Ben [Wooldridge] and being able to coach that five-minute situation where we would want him to take a sack, even though as a quarterback, you’re like, ‘Why do I want to take a sack? It’s third down and seven, and there’s three minutes and twelve seconds left. We force them to call a time out or we take 40 seconds off.’ Those are great opportunities to learn from. Again, the quarterbacks that aren’t in the game, they have to put themselves in that position. That’s what we were trying to do there at the end of the game is to make sure that everybody was watching the situation whether that’s the last play situations on defense or the five-minute offense with the guys that weren’t in there.”
On the last play with Kyle Dugger, what he saw on that and how did does he coach him:
“Again, that’s why we practice, why we are grateful that these games can create those situations of the last play. And again, you have two choices. One, bat it down when you know it’s the last play, which I’m not expecting him to. And then when you intercept the ball, we just have to go down. And then whenever we have the football in our hands defensively, we have to be able to secure it, and we have to be able to block, and we have to be able to get the intended receiver, and do all the things now that an offensive player would do. To just simply go down there and not have to take the few extra steps to make it close.”
On his thoughts about Drake Maye saying he was maybe a little too amped up for the first part of the game but said he doesn’t really want to change that, and if he appreciates a quarterback that approaches it that way:
“Again, the personality or whatever they’re feeling, that’s up to them. I think that the performance and the mentality and how we want to play the game has to be the same. So whatever they want to feel, they’re more than welcome to feel. We just need to make sure that we execute and that we’re taking command of the huddle and that we’re operating at a high level. And some guys are going to be more amped than others as their own personal approach to the game.”
On his thoughts on the left guard competition after watching the film and if there were any guys who he felt made the most of their opportunities:
“Well, we’ll continue to evaluate that spot and that rotation and where we’re at, competing and trying to make sure that we’re giving everybody the opportunity in there from the center and the left guard, and just trying to figure out what the best combination is.”
On what he’s seen from Ben Brown this offseason and how he’s done at left guard:
“Well, Ben’s continued to improve, and there’s opportunities. Ben’s had some good… He got us going in a run game there early. I thought he did okay. It wasn’t perfect, but Ben finishes, and he’s firm. We’re going to continue to coach all these guys, whether it’s Jared [Wilson] or Ben or Caedan [Wallace], about staying inside out and being patient in their set and timing their punch.”
On how he’s going to make his plan for running back carries and how he’ll divvy that up, and if that’s something where he wants set roles, for a third down guy, first down guy, or if he rides the hot hand in the game, and how he figures that out:
“Well, I think that that’s going to take care of itself as we get a little closer. There’s some things that are game planned and the involvement that some of them have on special teams or plays that we like for one or the other. But I think that they’re all capable, and we’re excited to get them back and do some things with them. I think the carries and production will hopefully all take care of itself.”
On if he expects Christian Gonzalez or Kendrick Bourne will practice or play this week.
“No.”
On his thoughts on Milton Williams through three joint practices:
“Well, I thought he showed the ability to get into the pocket. I thought, factored. I saw there was a couple of opportunities in practice for him to transition and get into the pocket, affect the quarterback. Saw that early in the game, I thought a good example of the team defense that we’re talking about. He pushed the middle of the pocket. The quarterback stepped up, ran into the push that Mill created. He tried to go out of the back of the pocket. KC [K’Lavon Chaisson] was there, and then the quarterback made the decision that he made, and we were able to take advantage of it, and Double A [Alex Austin] was able to get the interception. Just trying to show them those types of plays that Milt didn’t get on the stat sheet. KC might have got a quarterback hit, but in the end, we ended up with the football on the plus side of the field and converted that into points. So, I think that’s the whole idea that we’re preaching.”
(Editor’s Note: This transcript is done via the available footage and is subject to typos. If you spot something, please take a moment to let me know in the comments below.)
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