Drake Maye on Mike Vrabel: Just thankful he’s our head coach

The attention paid to the fallout from the publication of photos showing Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel and NFL reporter Dianna Russini together makes it inevitable that Patriots players are going to be asked questions about the impact on their preparations for the 2026 season.

A couple of players got their chance to address the matter at the facility earlier this week and quarterback Drake Maye’s first comments since the photos were released came on Wednesday night. Maye said that he and the rest of the team are supportive of Vrabel because of the way he’s been supportive of them since joining the team last year.

“We’re here for coach. We love coach, what he does for us, what he’s done for us this past year — you can’t speak into words,” Maye said via Jonathan Hall of 7News. “Just thankful he’s our head coach. I know he’s dealing with some stuff off the field and out of the coaching world, we’re here for him. And I know he’s going to come back.”

Vrabel missed the final day of the draft, but has been back at work this week and the messaging from Patriots players has been that nothing has changed for him inside the locker room.