ESPN had largely ignored the Mike Vrabel situation, for most of the 16 days since it emerged. By Thursday, it had become something no one could ignore.
It wasn’t ignored when ESPN draft host Mike Greenberg interviewed Commissioner Roger Goodell before the start of the first round of the draft.
“This is not a Personal Conduct Policy [situation], as we know of today,” Goodell said. “It’s a personal matter, and we’ll leave it at that.”
“Is that the kind of thing that typically you would talk with the team about if the Patriots seem to be handling that?” Greenberg asked.
“The teams handle these matters when they’re matters when their personal matters, and they handle it,” Goodell said. “They have a lot more information that can benefit everyone involved.”
Goodell left the door open by adding the words “as we know of today.” Further evidence (and plenty has been emerging) could change what the league knows in the future.
The NFL has previously said it’s not reviewing the situation under the Personal Conduct Policy. The policy contains a catch-all provision prohibiting “[c]onduct that undermines or puts at risk the integrity of the NFL, NFL clubs, or NFL personnel.” That’s obviously very broad.
Again, there could be more evidence. At some point, Dianna Russini (formerly of ESPN and The Athletic) could decide to tell her story. Depending on the story she tells, it could prompt the league to take a closer look at the situation.
That seems unlikely, for now. She has issued multiple denials of anything improper, both in response to the initial batch of photos published by the New York Post and in her resignation letter from The Athletic. More recently, she has deleted her Twitter account.
The Titans went offense at No. 4 in round one. That had to be a hard thing for coach Robert Saleh to do.
He ultimately got a defensive player by trading back into the first round.
The Patriots had traded No. 31 to the Bills, who traded No. 31 to the Titans. Who took Auburn edge rusher Keldric Faulk.
He’s a guy who could get plenty of one-on-one opportunities, given that defensive tackle Jeffery Simmons continues to be a dominant player.
To get pick No. 31, the Titans gave up pick No. 35, No. 66, and No. 101. They got back pick No. 69 and No. 165.
After the 28th overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft was traded twice, the Patriots ended up with it and selected Utah offensive tackle Caleb Lomu.
It’s the second straight year the Patriots have taken an offensive tackle in the first round, as they continue to prioritize protecting quarterback Drake Maye.
Lomu joins last year’s first-round pick, Will Campbell, in what the Patriots hope will be their pair of starting tackles for years to come.
The 28th pick originally belonged to the Texans, who traded it to the Bills, and the Bills then traded it to the Patriots. New England hopes that the music stopped with an offensive tackle who will start for the Patriots for years to come.
For NFL insiders who break transactional news in real time, the Twitter account is their most important tool.
Dianna Russini, who covered the NFL for The Athletic, has now deleted her Twitter account.
She had posted only two items since the photos with Patriots coach Mike Vrabel emerged 16 days ago. The first, a seemingly innocuous trial balloon passing along an article about the ongoing labor fight between the NFL and the NFL Referees Association, was a disaster; the replies were overrun with toxic and hateful content.
Five days later, she posted her resignation letter on Twitter, with the replies turned off.
In multiple statements made this week, Vrabel sharply contradicted her claim that the photos reveal nothing improper. In her resignation letter, she referred to the situation as “attacks” against her, and she complained that, “unfortunately, commentators in various media have engaged in self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts.”
She said she was resigning “not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”
Given that any reporter’s career hinges on objectivity and credibility, it will be very difficult for her to resume that role, in any capacity. The deletion of her Twitter account could at some level be an acknowledgement of this reality.
Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel made a hastily scheduled appearance in front of reporters at the team’s facility on Thursday evening to discuss his decision to step away from the team for the final day of the draft in order to go into counseling.
Vrabel made the announcement of that plan on Wednesday night amid the continued fallout from the publication of multiple sets of photos showing him and former The Athletic reporter Dianna Russini in social settings over the last six years. Vrabel did not address any details of their relationship, but said that his “previous actions don’t meet the standard that I hold myself to.”
“I take accountability for my actions and the actions that caused a distraction to the people that I care most about: my family, football team, the organization and our fans. . . . my family needs me this weekend and that’s where I’ll be,” Vrabel said.
Vrabel said he will continue working “however long it takes” on the “necessary steps” to give his family and the team the “best version” of himself.
Vrabel previously addressed reporters on Tuesday, but did not take any questions on the topic. He took a few questions on Thursday, including one that asked about the change of tone from his initial response calling it “laughable” to draw any inappropriate conclusions about his relationship with Russini. Vrabel referenced an “attempt to protect” his family while referring to it as a “private and personal matter.”
