The Patriots have signed fifth-round cornerback Karon Prunty to his four-year rookie deal, Christopher Price of the Boston Globe reports.
New England used the 171st overall pick on Prunty, who had a pre-draft visit with the team.
At the NFL Scouting Combine, Prunty ran a 4.45-second 40-yard dash.
Prunty played at Kansas and North Carolina A&T before finishing at Wake Forest last season. He totaled 40 tackles, a sack, an interception, eight passes defensed, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in starting all 13 games in 2025.
He joins a cornerbacks room with Christian Gonzalez, Carlton Davis III, Marcus Jones, Charles Woods, Kindle Vildor, Marcellas Dial, Kobee Minor and Brandon Crossley.
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Given the developments to date and the possibility, if not inevitability, of more developments to come, it remains possible that Mike Vrabel won’t remain the head coach of the Patriots.
The question has become a wager on both of the leading prediction markets.
At Kalshi, the question of who the Patriots coach will be as of Week 1 2026 has Vrabel at 77 percent. That’s a surprisingly low percentage, given that, a month ago, it was a given that Vrabel would be the coach in New England for years to come. Polymarket poses the question as whether Vrabel will be out by December 31, 2026. “Yes” is currently at 23 percent.
For now, the situation seems to have stabilized. That could change with any further revelation.
The wild card is whether and when the other person in this situation — Dianna Russini — will tell her side of the story. No one knows what, if anything, she’ll say. No one will know where she’ll say it. Surely, multiple outlets are already trying to get the interview. Maybe she’ll write a book. Maybe there will be a documentary.
However it happens, that’s the biggest unknown piece in all of this. Depending on what she says (if she says anything), it could reshuffle the deck in a way that complicates Vrabel’s situation to the point at which it’s not possible to continue.
For now, 23 percent of the people who are betting on Kalshi and Polymarket believe that the story will end with Vrabel not remaining. That’s still a low number, but it’s dramatically higher on May 1 than anyone would have expected it to be on April 1.
Anyone in the media who says “I ignore social media” is either lying or dumb. It’s important to keep an eye on whether any of the things we say or write are interpreted correctly — and whether they’re being twisted and warped in the name of engagement.
Sometimes, the only thing to do is untwist and unwarp for the benefit of those who are either too stupid to apply common sense or smart enough to distort reality for profit. (I’m not sure which is worse.)
Two weeks ago, after USA Today fired Crissy Froyd for comments she made on Twitter when Dianna Russini resigned from The Athletic, I addressed the manner in which the aggregators had reacted to my effort to steer Chris Simms on PFT Live as he was potentially deviating from the known and reported facts about the controversy involving Russini and Patriots coach Mike Vrabel. They believed (or pretended to believe) that I’d reached through the camera and applied a concrete muzzle to Simms, just as he was about to make some dramatic revelation that would have provided a definitive solution to the entire situation (along with a clip they could steal and post).
The truth was far less interesting. I practiced law for 19 years. I know where the line is. I was trying to keep my co-host and friend away from it, by getting him to stick to what was known and/or properly vetted and reported.
I didn’t silence him. He could have then said whatever he wanted to say. (And the first thing he said to me after I told him to “stay on target” was to “shut the hell up.”)
He also could have said whatever he wanted to say on his own Twitter page. On his Instagram account. On his own podcast. He was free to say whatever he wanted, wherever he wanted.
At that specific moment, my goal was to protect my co-host and friend from accidentally saying something that isn’t known and/or hasn’t been properly vetted and reported. Such comments can have consequences, potentially in the form of a civil lawsuit for defamation.
Fast forward to Monday. Chris announced on PFT Live that he won’t be on Football Night in America this season. It’s part of the broader overhaul of the show. It started with Tony Dungy’s announcement that he won’t be back, and it continued with NBC’s announcement that Mike Tomlin has joined the show — and that the show will go on the road every week this season.
Somehow, the two threads have been tied together into the asinine (to put it mildly) notion that Chris was “fired by NBC” because I told him to “stay on target” when we were discussing the Vrabel-Russini situation in the very early days of a story that has lingered for 23 days and counting. (It didn’t help that one specific person whose 15 minutes of notoriety have expired may be trying to leverage a little extra time by injecting herself into the story.)
It’s stupid. It’s illogical. It’s cuckoo for mutherf—king Cocoa Puffs. And while it may be good for aggregator engagement, it’s very bad for brain cells — and it reveals the absence of them in those who actually believe there’s a link between the two things.
Also (and since this one has caught some traction, too), NBC didn’t “fire” Chris. He’ll still co-host PFT Live. He’ll still do his podcast, Chris Simms Unbuttoned. He’s still part of the NBC Saturday college football studio show.
And, no, I’m not the next to be “fired.” I own PFT. And while there’s always a chance NBC will decide on the expiration of the current contract or a future one to go in a different direction, PFT isn’t going away until I sell it, drop dead, or decide I’ve had enough.
The fact that I had to set the record straight on something so damn idiotic makes the third option a lot more attractive than it ordinarily would be.
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.
The situation involving Patriots coach Mike Vrabel has taken on a life of its own, due in large part to a string of questionable P.R. moves from the inception of the controversy.
It’s gotten to the point at which things that otherwise would not be relevant have become not only relevant but significant.
On Tuesday night, for example, the Patriots held an event for season-ticket holders. Vrabel attended.
And while the characterization is that Vrabel received a “standing ovation,” watch the video. It was a round of applause that became a standing ovation at the behest of Patriots radio analyst Scott Zolak, who stood and urged those in attendance to also stand.
Organic standing ovation or not, the current reaction of Patriots fans is separate from the question of whether the situation will get worse before it gets better. As Chris Simms and I discussed on Wednesday’s PFT Live, it could be a challenge to reconcile a major complication to a coach’s personal life with a job that by definition consumes his life, especially once training camp opens.
Already, Vrabel missed the third day of the draft because of it. He could miss more time, as he attempts to repair the situation that dates back to at least March 2020.
Then there’s the possibility that more information will come to light. Whether it’s more photos from Page Six or TMZ or Spotify playlists or unnamed sources who have to date had nothing to say to the other person embroiled in this saga — Dianna Russini — possibly deciding to tell her story to the Today show or some other news outlet that is or will be trying to get her to do an exclusive sit-down interview, there are many ways the story can continue to grow.
For now, we know three things. One, there have been plenty of developments in only 22 days. Two, there could be more. Three, an NFL head coach has crossed over into a level of notoriety that makes it impossible for him or his wife to walk through an airport without being photographed and/or interviewed.
Is it sustainable? We don’t know, because this has never happened before. Throw in another development or two, and it’s possible that someone will decide it is not sustainable.
When the photos of Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and reporter Dianna Russini first emerged 22 days ago, they were accompanied by three strong denials of impropriety — one from Vrabel, one from Russini, and one from Russini’s employer, The Athletic.
Said Steven Ginsberg, executive editor of The Athletic, in a statement to the New York Post in the article that published the initial photos: “These photos are misleading and lack essential context. These were public interactions in front of many people. Dianna is a premier journalist covering the NFL and we’re proud to have her at The Athletic.”
Subsequent developments have made the initial statements look unfortunate, to say the least. And that has made Ginsberg’s comment look less than ideal, in hindsight.
Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports reports that, on Wednesday, Ginsberg addressed the situation in an all-hands meeting with the publication’s staff. Citing unnamed sources, Glasspiegel reports that Ginsberg spent 10 minutes reading from a prepared statement.
The statement acknowledged that “communications could have been more clear,” per the report. Ginsberg also said that the existing internal investigation “is ongoing and expected to be lengthy.” Ginsberg did not take questions during the meeting.
The incident underscores existing tensions between The Athletic and its parent company, the New York Times. The employees of both entities are subject to high standards of journalism. The Russini situation, and Ginsberg’s handling of it, justifies internal questions as to whether The Athletic is meeting the bar set by the publication that purchased it in 2022.
Some within both entities may also be wondering what The Athletic knew or should have known when Russini was hired in 2023, given the images that emerged last week of Vrabel and Russini in a New York City bar on March 11, 2020.
Even though Russini resigned on April 14, The Athletic continues to clean up the mess. And plenty of employees of The Athletic and the New York Times will be very interested in the final conclusions made as a result of the investigation.
Rob Gronkowski will be eligible for election to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2027, but he won’t have to wait that long to be inducted into one of his former team’s version.
The Patriots announced on Wednesday that Gronkowski has been elected to their Hall. He will be inducted into the Hall later this year.
“Rob Gronkowski’s performance on the field was extraordinary, but it was his infectious energy and consistently positive presence that truly set him apart,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft said in a statement. “He always brightened everyone’s day. He earned the respect of coaches and teammates through his work ethic, preparation and unselfish approach, while redefining what it meant to play his position. Rob became a fan favorite almost immediately and remained the standard at tight end for nearly a decade. We look forward to celebrating his induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame and, in time, the Pro Football Hall of Fame.”
Gronkowski was a 2010 second-round pick for the Patriots and helped them win three Super Bowls before retiring after the 2018 season. He returned to play for the Buccaneers in 2020 and won another title before retiring again after the 2022 season.
Gronkowski had 521 catches for 7,861 yards and 79 touchdowns in New England. He is the franchise leader in career receiving touchdowns and ranks second in receiving yards.
Now that the NFL draft has come and gone, there’s one key date left on the league’s offseason schedule. Even if we don’t know what that date will be.
The schedule release is coming. In May. When in May, we don’t know.
Last year, the full regular-season schedule was released on Wednesday, May 14. In the preceding days, a handful of games were announced by the various broadcast partners.
That makes the week of May 11 the most likely target for the 2026 schedule release, as to the entire slate of 272 regular-season games.
Like every year, the “who” and the “where” of every game became known the moment the prior regular season ended. The formula is tied to division membership (six games), the AFC-NFC full-division rotation (as to eight games), and final finish in each team’s given division (three games). But the “when” remains a mystery, for all but two games.
To date, the league has announced that the Rams will “host” the 49ers in Melbourne on Thursday, September 10 (Friday, September 11 at the site of the game) and that the Cowboys will “host” the Ravens in Brazil on Sunday, September 27. As to the other 270 games, nothing has been announced.
The act of adding the “where” to the “who” and the “when” will be a major sports story, overshadowing the other major sports that are, you know, playing games. It’s another tangible example of the extent to which the NFL stands out in the American sports landscape.
We’ve suggested in the past that the league could, and perhaps should, make it a multi-day exercise, with the prime-time games unveiled on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday of schedule-release week and the rest of the games announced on Thursday. Why not commandeer the full week, instead of taking over only one day?
The experience has now been supplemented by a competition among the teams to come up with the best and most creative schedule-release videos. Some teams do it better than others, with the Chargers typically having the most edgy and humorous offering. As a result, some teams have arguably pushed the limits, to the point where it makes sense for the league office to sign off on any videos that could become problematic once they debut.
That could be a particularly good idea this year, for any team that has the Patriots on the schedule. Especially the Chargers, who are indeed slated to host New England in 2026.
Patriots seventh-round draft pick Behren Morton is the new guy in New England’s quarterback room, but he’s not the young guy.
The 24-year-old Morton is older than the 23-year-old Drake Maye, and the two have known each other since they both went to the Elite 11 event as high school quarterbacks.
“We were Elite 11 finalists. We went to Tennessee,” Morton said, via MassLive.com. “I got to know him there. He’s a great dude. He’s a young guy that I can learn from. Obviously had a tremendous season last year. So getting to learn from him this year.”
Morton said he also wants to learn from Tommy DeVito, who at 27 is the old guy in the Patriots’ quarterback room. But Morton knows the quarterback room revolves around Maye, and Morton will do whatever he has to do to support the starter.
“I’m really looking forward to picking his brain about what he’s done in the league so far. He’s been very successful this last year. So I’m going to do whatever it takes,” Morton said. “If he needs a coffee from Starbucks, I’m there for Drake. Whatever he needs throughout this process, I’m here for him.”
Morton believes he’s going to help both Maye and DeVito as all three of them grow into their primes.
“I’m fired up to be there,” Morton said. “I’m a competitor. I’m going to elevate the room for sure. And I’m going to do whatever it takes to make this organization better.”
Morton is walking into a young quarterback room, but one where he can learn a lot.
The Mike Vrabel situation has dominated much of the attention being paid to the Patriots over the last few weeks, but tight end Hunter Henry said in a Tuesday press conference that the players have been focused on football while in the building for the last two weeks.
While that might provide a respite for what’s going on outside the walls, it also means a return to thoughts about the last time the team was on the field. That was a 29-13 loss to the Seahawks in a Super Bowl that felt like a bigger blowout than the score would indicate, which is likely part of the reason why Henry said that the loss is still a sore point for the team.
Henry also explained that he thinks that can be a positive because of the desire to avoid another ending like the one the team had in Santa Clara.
“I watched a little. It still stings, to be honest with you,” Henry said. “Obviously, we didn’t play to the capability that we wanted to play at all on the biggest stage, and that was very disappointing and hard to process for a while. Definitely has taken a while. It still stings, but I think that is good. That’s good that it stings. It’s good. It makes you want to work a little harder. To get all the way to the end and then not achieve it was hard. There was a lot of positives when you really step back from it and able to really look at the full picture. I mean, making it all the way there is obviously a blessing. It’s really, really hard to do. Obviously getting there was big, but we didn’t make it all the way.”
The 2026 season will be the first chance for the Patriots to show that they’ve built a sustainable winner rather than a team that flashed while playing a fourth-place schedule and seeing some other AFC contender’s chances deteriorate thanks to injuries and other reasons. History has examples in both directions and the answer in New England will help determine the way the conference stacks up beyond the coming season.
