TRANSCRIPT: Mike Vrabel’s Press Conference 9/1
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Here’s what Mike Vrabel had to say during his press conference on Monday, September 1, 2025.
On if he can shed some light on why it made sense to release Jabrill Peppers:
“Well, I think that these things are tough decisions. I think we’re just trying to get it right. And got a lot of respect for Jabrill as a person and as a player. And what we felt like was in the best interest of the team at this point was allowing him to have another opportunity elsewhere.”
“There’s a lot of things that go into these decisions, and they’re never easy. We’re just trying to get it right collectively. Again, I know that there’s a personal side and professional side. I talked about that with the players this morning. Whether you agree with it or disagree with it, just try to respect it and move forward and continue to build a team, continue to build a program and I know Jabrill will do good things in this league and outside of the field as well. He’s a passionate player, and again, got a lot of respect for him.”
On in terms of the intangibles, he brought a lot of what he talked about in passion, playing with violence, and if there was a scheme fit issue:
“No, I don’t think that was certainly not the issue. There’s a lot of reasons. I wouldn’t say that’s … We’re going to try to do what’s best for the team. We got a lot of different schemes that we can run in all three phases, special teams, offense, and defense. There’s a lot that goes into it. Again, we’re just trying to build towards Sunday here, and that’s our focus. Again, that’s the decision that we had to make. Again, wish the best for Jabrill.”
On what he thinks about Craig Woodson to move on from a veteran like Jabrill and all the experience?
“I think that his athleticism, I think his range in the field, and the more he plays, I think he’ll continue to get better. That’s the hope there with Craig. We’ll see with [Jaylinn Hawkins] Hawk and with Dug [Kyle Dugger] and obviously, Dell [Pettus] working back there now. So, just trying to find a role for everybody here.”
On if he’s made a conscious decision to put his imprint on the team, since there have been a number of guys who’ve been the leaders, like Peppers, [Ja’Whaun] Bentley, [Joe] Cardona, [David] Andrews, Jonathan Jones, Diatrich Wise, and if he’s made a conscious decision to pivoting a little bit from that group of leadership to a different…
“I never really thought about it in terms of that when we tried to make decisions. Some of those players were free agents. Some of them were currently on the roster. I don’t think that’s ever been a conscious decision. I think we’re just trying to evaluate the roster and provide the pieces that we feel like we need right now.”
On if he sees a new core of leaders who are already elevated?
“I think that that has to happen every year. We voted for captains. We’ll inform those guys here before practice. The players voted this morning, so we’ll inform those guys before practice. I think we all know that every year is a new year in this league, and that’s how it goes. The leadership has to grow from whether it’s a captain. We talked about that not having any restrictions on leadership, and hopefully at whatever level we have guys that can lead. We’ll have captains, and then we’ll have, hopefully, a lot more leaders as well.”
On the status of Christian Gonzalez:
“Yeah, I wouldn’t anticipate him out here today, so hopefully that improves. But he’s working hard and trying to improve, and he wants to be out there. I think this is good for us and for Christian, and the team is trying not to be frustrated. Obviously, those things happen, and it’s how we respond to them. It’s how hard we work to get back, the communication, all the things that he’s doing. Just continue to work hard to get back and try to make sure that we’re doing everything we can to help him.”
On if there’s a concern for him on Sunday with the timing:
“Well, again, I think that we’re having to get him back for practice first, and then we’ll have an update and status for Sunday.”
On him mentioning making it for not to be frustrated. If that’s something either the team or Christian has been?
“No, that’s in my own personal experience of when you’re not in there, when you’re not in there with the team, I guess. I appreciate you actually clarifying or asking. Those are just things in the course of my career or being a coach and dealing with players that they want to play. They want to be out there, right? Those are, I guess, the things that I’ve tried to talk to all the players about is the time that you’re not on the field is how you stay engaged and stay into the meetings and the schedule.”
“They all want to play. Again, I think that was just a broad term for things that I’m trying to focus on when guys aren’t out there. That could go for Jahlani [Tavai] or anybody else at this point.”
On how that’s getting into the timeline and if Christian has had a setback at all?
“Well, it just hasn’t gone… Again, he’s working hard. And whether, again, we could say one injury is going to be three to four weeks, one is going to be one to two. Everybody heals differently. Just making sure that when the players are back, that they can do their job with confidence, that they can protect themselves on the field, and that they can’t make it any worse. Those are some things that I try to use as guidelines for when players are ready to play and get back there.”
On him talking about not trying to get frustrated with this. What have you seen from that cornerback room, specifically with the depth they have at that position with Gonzalez sidelined:
“Well, I mean, I think DJ [James] was one of our more improved players over the course of rookie Mini Camp, which is he participated in that as a veteran that had the ability to participate in that till now. Double A [Alex Austin] has done a nice job of going out there and playing corner or playing nickel. Marcus [Jones] provides a lot of leadership in there. It’s been good to have CD [Carlton Davis] string some days together. It provides opportunity for other guys, and we’d love to have Gonzo back. Trust me, we would. But I think the other guys have stepped up and tried to take advantage of the opportunity.”
On Jaylinn Hawkins and what makes him a good fit for this defense, for this team, for this scheme:
“Well, again, this is not a scheme-dependent. We’ve run a lot of different schemes. We’ve had a lot of different players play different positions for us. He’s come in, he’s played fast, he’s communicated, he’s tried to play with some violence around the line of scrimmage, and whether that’s on the perimeter passes that we saw in some of the earlier games, I think he’s comfortable. Again, the more reps that he’s gotten, I think the better he’s gotten, and will hopefully perform.”
On what he likes about Eric Gregory and why was he a guy that he wanted to claim?
“Well, I think you’re always looking for young defensive linemen, and guys with good size and length and production. So, somebody that we had targeted through the draft process, as it got towards the back end of the draft, and whether he was going to be drafted or not. And I think just the personnel department focusing on some of those players at cut-down day and having a good list and some of the players that we were able to add and are really excited about working with here. Haven’t really been able to work with them since we claimed them Thursday, and then when when we added Eric.”
[Inaudible – On how some of the holdovers have adapted out there in the secondary:]
“I think they’re working at it and it’s going well. We’ll play man as much as we can. We’re going to be able to play from zero all the way up, and trying to get good at a little bit of everything, and being able to have enough coverage that gives us some versatility back there to be able to do different things.”
On this being the first game week for a lot of young guys and if he has to remind them to not overthink or overprepare or do too much and just get out there and let it go:
“Well, I think we have to put a lot of work in before the game, and certainly not sure what they’re going to be in. There’s going to be a lot of unknowns, and there’s going to be a lot of things that come up in that game that none of us are going to be sure about, whether that’s Will [Campbell] or TreVeyon [Henderson] or any other young player that we have or any veteran player. There’s going to be things that happen. We have to be poised. We have to keep our composure. It’s going to be emotional. I want it to be emotional. I want them to be excited, and we have to build for Sunday. There’s going to be things that come up, and we’ll have to go on to the next play and figure out what that situation calls for and try to keep our composure the best that we can, whether that’s after a positive play, [or] that’s after a negative play.”
On if he thinks he knows his team yet, or if it’s all part of that first week?
“I think I kind of have an idea, but I don’t know if you ever really know. I mean, we’ll find out. But I think that they like coming in to work. I think they enjoy coming in here to work. They kind of understand where we’re at here. This is the longest week of the season. We’ll get them out of here today. Then they’ll be off tomorrow. I’m sure they’ll get into their normal season. I’ve asked them to try to get into their normal season, day off routine, whether that’s how they take care of their body or what they do to prepare. We’ll come back on Wednesday.”
On this being the first game week for him here and if he can describe what he’s feeling here on Monday knowing what this week is going to end of the game.
“There’s a lot of excitement, but also things that you want to prepare for. How much do you prepare? How much do you give them? I guess you don’t want to cover ghosts, but you certainly want to be prepared for things that come up. Maybe that’s just me handling it and making sure that we’re not overloading the players. They have base rules that we have to use, and go and see what happens on Sunday, as far as the scheme that we’re seeing, and making sure that we’re really good in the second half. We talked about being great in the second half and being intentional with that, 12 to 16 winners won the second half last year in week one. So hopefully the dust settles and we’re able to settle down in a game and play really well to finish the game.”
On the roster being fluid even well after the cut down day, and if he feels like it’s settled, understanding things can always change for the most part:
“I mean, as of for now, as 11:35 on Monday, I think it is. But that’s just who we’re going to practice with today. And as players become available or we work players out and we think that they can help us, I think we owe it to the football team to continue to explore those options.”
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This transcript was done based on the available footage and is subject to typographical errors. If you spot anything, please let me know in the comments below.)
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Well Peppers and Ja’Whaun Bentley’s comments debunk that “scheme fit” isn’t a great rationale for Peppers being cut after making the 53. And Vrabel’s response was a nebulous class of non-answer: “a lot goes into it”, and a BB line of “what’s best for the team”. So there was some clubhouse, or personal conduct or injury concern issue. That Peppers only denied it was scheme fit but didn’t offer anything means it’s sensitive in his court too. I’m sticking to either head injuries, drug test failure, or some other personal conduct gaff. Sh** happens in the NFL. Let it go… Read more »
Hawkins and Woodson may be the starters today, but don’t be surprised if Duggar is fairly quickly rotating in and taking a primary roll. What we heard from Vrabel pointed at (1) a long rehab and surgery, plus (2) Duggar was needing more time to learn the new D. Sounds like Duggar is not far off based on his play review vs NYG. Hawkins had never been able to realize a starting role here in the old D. Is this new D a better fit for him. Maybe, maybe not.