TRANSCRIPT: Mike Vrabel Press Conference 7/30

Here’s what New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel had to say during his press conference on Thursday, July 30, 2026.

On how Christian Gonzalez has looked so far, and if he anticipates him being a full participant today:

“I don’t think his participation is going to change. I haven’t heard anything, or, I mean, I thought he’s come out and looked exactly how we would expect him to look and came in ready to go. Executing the multiple coverages, and when he’s in a match, he’s been close to his guy. He’s been— I think the one thing we’ve tried to challenge him on is some of the other opportunities where he can go and use his athleticism, use his speed, use his length and his instincts to go make plays. There’s going to be times where he’s going to be matched up, and there’s going to be times where he’s going to have other opportunities. And some of that has shown up early on in camp, and hopefully that continues.

On the fact that he said last year that this is maybe his most exciting day when they first get out there in pads, and usually there’s one or two guys that look different, and if he remembers who that was last year? Maybe who stood out and how much does he like this day of the year?

“Well, I mean, I just think it’s the next step for us. It’s another opportunity to come out there and really start to come together and see how the fundamentals and all the technique work that the guys have tried to put in through the offseason and through the early part of camp. I don’t want to single anybody out. I don’t really recall. I actually thought about it for a quick second, and then I said, ‘I’m going to need to focus on what today is and this year.’ But whether that’s young players or tight ends or the opportunity to run. This is good work for us to be able to work in the weather, work in elements, stay up, work our footing, to be able to play and operate and take care of the football, from the quarterback-center exchange to the way that we catch it. There’s going to be times where we’re going to have to play in the elements. And this is a great opportunity for us.”

On if DeAndre Hopkins is still with the team, and what it was like having him around:

“Well, it was a great experience. Hop’s not here, but it was a great experience for, I think, all of us. And I think that’s what we would try to do when you have some of these unique situations where a player or former player or whatever it may be wants to come in and help and learn, and they love football. And so I think it was good for everybody.”

On if he has an update on Carlton Davis:

“He won’t be out there today. I wouldn’t expect seeing him today, or obviously any of the PUP guys. Gabe [Jacas] continues to progress well. I would say that he’s closer to the return-to-play element and that we talk about a lot. Transitioning to Frank and his crew, getting closer. So excited about that.”

On the fact Charles Woods also left

“Yeah, I don’t think that was anything major.”

On how it’s going with Drake and AJ Brown, and the fact Brown was talking about getting to know Drake, getting to know the offense. And if their growing connection gets easier because Drake’s command of the offense is growing too:

“No, you just have to go out and execute and I think it’s— I know everybody tracks the numbers and everything else. I’m confident that they’ll continue to progress. And, again, it’s good work. It’s good competitive work out there. And guys are in tight coverage or challenging, and whatever that may be. And Drake’s hit a lot of passes to a lot of different guys. And I think that’s the one thing that we continue to try to impress upon everybody is that whether it’s Hunter [Henry] or the guys that are receivers or there’s opportunities for Ramondre [Stevenson] in the passing game or matchups that we’ve had. And I’m really confident that relationship will continue to grow and AJ will have plenty of opportunities to help us.”

On what his impression has been of Keyshawn Boutte so far this camp, both on the field and just however he’s been comporting himself, off the field:

“Exactly the same as it was last year. I would say very professional. He’s ready to go. He knows what to do, takes advantage of his opportunities. It’s been great to see him show up and be very productive early on in camp. And that was no different than last year. So I’ve got a lot of respect for him. I tell him that and excited that he’s gotten off to a good start.”

On how he would describe what he’s seen from the rookie class:

“I think that it’s a learning curve for these guys. I think that the spring is one thing and then getting to training camp is something completely different. I think they try to improve, they try to learn. Caleb [Lomu] playing O-line in this league and doing those things is a new experience. There’s new techniques. It’s a much different line of scrimmage, I would say, than college football. So, he rarely makes the same mistake twice. He practices hard. He tries to learn. He tries to fix mistakes. Eli’s learning and figuring this game out, and I think he can find a way to help us. And, on and on and on I go down the line. And, like I said, I mentioned Gabe earlier. He wants to be out there as soon as he possibly can. And I told everybody this, and I told Gabe this, that there would be a return to play when he got back. And, so he’s attentive in meetings and he’s watching practice. And, he came in on his off day and then met with Smitty [LB coach Mike Smith] and did all those things that he needed to do.”

On the fact [Jacas] made an appearance, just obviously not participating, and if that’s something that he’s been encouraged given that he wasn’t here for some of the spring and summer:

“Well, he wanted to be out there. Some guys that— I’d say that the closer they get to coming back are probably more likely to have them come out to practice. If they’re not very close to coming back, then maybe they won’t be out there. But I’d say that’s probably just a case-by-case basis. And he wanted to be out there, and he wanted to watch and learn and see what was going on with the drills and everything else. So that’s what we did.”

On the fact Harold [Landry] was out there, and if that’s significant that maybe he’s getting closer to returning:

“I probably would say Gabe’s closer to coming back than Harold is.”

On the fact we have heard from both [Bradyn] Swinson and [Elijah] Ponder mention that they changed their diet, changed their eating habit this offseason, and if that’s something that the young players come to realize as they mature, or how much comes from his supporting nutrition staff contributing there:

“Well, I think it’s that some of these players are at an age where they’re just now getting into where they could be physically at their best. From a strength and conditioning and speed factor. And some players, that happens a little earlier than other players. But I think that those guys were looking at what they needed to do to improve or what they could do to improve from year 1 to year 2. And Ted and his staff, Ted and Sam, do a fantastic job with each player’s dietary needs and what some players need less or more. Coaches could probably use a little less calories than some of the players, but those guys have worked hard and excited to see where they continue to grow.”

On what he makes of the offense’s operation from the play call coming into the snap:

“I think it’s good. Yeah, I mean, I think it’s good. I think it’s, you want to compare last year, it’s probably better. I don’t know. We talk about our overall tempo of practice. I think the tempo and the speed and the urgency, I think, is good. I think the execution— what I told the team and told the offense— I think the execution has to be better. I think it will be better. But overall, I think that we’re moving with a pace that I think can help us, and we try to work with a play clock, and we try to get to the line of scrimmage, and whether we huddle or whether we don’t huddle and allow Drake to get us in a good call. And I think all those things are good and we’ll continue to build and work with that. And it could always be better. But being able to play with a tempo, whether we huddle or not, is something that’s critical.”

On Caleb Lomu, and the fact he’s worked as a jumbo tight end, that extra tackle out there and kind of the role that Thayer [Munford] had last year, and what goes into the decision to say he might be a good fit here as opposed to someone else:

“I think just, what their skill type may be, whether the further away you get from the ball and being able to work in space or some of those blocks out on the edge, and how that translates. It’s usually a tackle. If you look at the open side of the play, whatever they may do, just kind of pretend that they’re the tight end and see how that translates. So we’ll work some other guys through and continue to look at that. But wanted to try to give him a role early on or give an opportunity to have a role early on. And we’ll see where that develops. He’ll be in there sometimes when Morgan’s not out there, and then some other guys will.”

On the fact it seems like they’ve been leaning into some more 3-safety looks than maybe they did last season, and what he looks for in a safety playing that nickel spot, and what he thinks of the competition in there so far:

“Yeah, the 3 safeties is just a body, you know what I mean? It’s a guy. And so, really, Marcus [Jones] isn’t the biggest guy, and you know how much we love Marcus. It’s just, it gives you an opportunity to probably play against teams that are going to run the football out of 11 personnel or play against 12 personnel. And much like the conversation we just had with Caleb is just trying to find guys to have roles and who can play where. Pretty confident that Marcus knows that stuff and knows how to play in there. And then giving some of the safeties an opportunity to have another role as well. You guys are pretty deep at wide receiver.

On the receivers and if that’s a position he might be willing to move a player or if he likes having that depth:

“Well, I mean, I love having depth, but I would say that we’re always going to try to look to improve, whether that’s by adding draft capital or obtaining a player or keeping the guys we have. We want to try to provide competition throughout the roster at each position. I think that’s something that’s critical. I think that’s what good teams do every year in and year out, that they’re making their roster as competitive as possible. And so that those position battles and – Who’s the 6th lineman? Who’s the 5th, 6th receiver? Who’s the 4th tight end? All these things are— you want to be as competitive as possible. And that’s something that I’ve always – I was a part of that as a player – and I think that’s important to do here in training camp.”

On the fact some quarterbacks and coaches around the league, including Josh Allen, have talked a little bit about reading defenses last season and how it’s getting harder to use safeties as keys and if that’s something that his team thinks about when they’re teaching the quarterbacks and if they have to teach them differently, or if that’s even a thing that he’s really thinking about, that trend of deceptive?

“Well, I mean, I think we’re always, I mean, offensively, I think we’re always trying to figure out what’s going on and what they’re trying to do and how we can set the defense and make it look like we’re going to snap the ball. To Andrew [Callahan]’s point, our tempo and our operation, if you just stand out there and the quarterback’s just standing straight up and down, you’re not going to give them any reason to get into position or to show maybe what they’re doing. I would say that there’s some pre-snap and then post-snap reads that go involved, and whether the coverage opens up or it stays pretty tight to the line of scrimmage, and they’re in some sort of match or the non-traditional Tampa looks that people are running and everything else. So I would say that we only have one team to game plan against right now, and that’s the other side of the ball for the Patriots. And Drake will have to study our guys and what Craig’s doing, what Kevin’s doing, linebacker location, all these different things that go into it. Guys staring in at the ball, maybe somebody pressed when they’re not normally pressed. And I would say we try to give them a few things, but not too many things that he can’t go out there and play fast.”

On when it comes to handling protections, if there are any ways that you wanted to see Drake continue to improve this season after he kind of went into handling it last year? And how have you seen him grow there?

“Yeah, that’s always more about the disguise and … How would I like to see him handle it? I’d like to see him make sure that the slide’s going to where they’re pressuring from. I would like to try to get as many guys to where they’re pressuring from as possible. They don’t tell us, they don’t show us the card before the play. So, what’s always important is that we listen to the quarterback and that if he’s hot, he’s got to know that he’s hot and he’s got to have an answer, right? I don’t think protection’s ever going to be 100%. What’s important is that you have a way to save the day and know where your hot throw is or know where your issues are. So I would say that that’s something that we’re always trying to improve on. You’ll see these guys working during special teams. You’ll see them working blitz pickup, too weak, too strong, corner pressure. I mean it’s just, I think, a constant thing. And again, I love the way that Ramondre protects and TreVeyon is continuing to work on that.”

“If you have backs that can pick up pressure, it’s one thing to be able to get over there and know where the pressure is coming from. It’s also another to, you’ve got to go block them. And, defensively, we talk about if we get on a running back, we have to win. We have to be disruptive when we’re blitzing on the back. And so I think the first part is getting the quarterback to get us in the right protection, and then you’ve got to go over there and block them. And then if we don’t get in the right protection, the quarterback has to know what the answer is and, and where he’s got to get rid of football. ”

(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.)

About Ian Logue

Ian Logue is a Seacoast native and owner and senior writer for PatsFans.com, an independent media site covering the New England Patriots and has been running this site in one form or another since 1997.

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