Exactly one month to the day since the first photos of Patriots coach and NFL reporter Dianna Russini emerged, TMZ has supplemented its report regarding the renting of a boat by the pair in June 2021 with a video of them on the dock.
On the surface, the video doesn’t add much to the broader story. Yes, it confirms the accuracy of the prior TMZ account. But it doesn’t tell anyone anything new.
Here’s the broader point, which the TMZ reporting on the Vrabel-Russini situation reconfirms: It’s not going away, and multiple outlets will continue to look for more.
What else is out there? Given that much of the evidence published to date shows little effort to be discreet or secretive, there could be plenty. And it could continue to drip, one drop at a time.
The broader question is whether and when Russini will tell her story. If/when she does, it will be tested against the information already available — and it will invite ongoing efforts to find anything that may contradict whatever she says.
As it relates to Vrabel, there’s the question of whatever he has said privately to explain the situation to his wife and family. If, as could be reasonably expected, a full account of the extent of the relationship was demanded and if the story omitted the Tennessee boat excursion while Russini was noticeably pregnant, that’s another issue Vrabel will have to navigate while focusing on preparations for the 2026 season.
At some point, it could become impossible to balance the issues in his personal life with a job that, once training camp opens, will consume his life. That’s why each additional development matters. And why, at this point, it would be foolish to assume there won’t be more.
Titans Clips
Titans quarterback Cam Ward is learning a new offense before his second NFL season and that process appears to be going well.
Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll is responsible for the construction of the scheme that the Titans are going to run this season and he said that the first overall pick of the 2025 draft has proven to be a quick study in their time working together.
“He is a young professional,” Daboll said, via the team’s website. “He wants to be great. He is instinctive. When we are just watching the tape, he is able to communicate the things that he sees and why he did certain things when we watch the tape from last year. When we are installing the new system to him, concepts and things like that, he is able to pick things up very quickly. It has been awesome to work with him.”
Ward and Daboll will have a lot more time to work on honing the quarterback’s fit in the offense and the hope is that the new approach and changes to the roster lead to more positive results than Ward experienced last year.
The Vikings are not officially announcing their interviews for General Manager, but three more candidates for the role have now been reported.
According to multiple reports, Minnesota has put in an interview request for Titans assistant G.M. Dave Ziegler and 49ers assistant G.M. RJ Gillen. Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports notes the Vikings have also put in a request for Chargers assistant G.M. Chad Alexander.
Of this group, Ziegler has previous G.M. experience, having served in that role for the Raiders in 2022 and 2023. He was fired midway through his second season, along with former head coach Josh McDaniels.
Gillen has spent the last 11 seasons with the 49ers. He was promoted to assistant G.M. last year after serving as director of player personnel for two years.
Alexander has been the Chargers’ assistant G.M. since 2024. He was previously with the Ravens’ personnel department from 1999-2018 before serving as Jets director of player personnel from 2019-2023.
It’s impossible to know whether the situation involving Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and NFL reporter Dianna Russini will result in Vrabel stepping down as coach of the Patriots (or, possibly, taking a leave of absence for the 2026 season), because it’s always possible that more information will come to light.
More information has come to light.
TMZ reports that Vrabel and Russini rented a boat together in June 2021, in Tennessee. The report includes a copy of the waiver they both signed, and a photo taken by Vrabel with staff members at the boat rental company. (Russini, per the report, declined to be photographed with staff.)
In June 2021, Russini — who is married — was pregnant with her first child.
The new report adds to a tapestry of evidence that started with photos of Vrabel and Russini at an adults-only resort in Sedona, Arizona in March 2026. Later photos surfaced of Vrabel and Russini at a New York City bar in March 2020, and at a Mississippi casino in January 2024.
What else is out there? Outlets like TMZ and the New York Post, among others, are surely looking for it.
The overriding question is whether, and when, Russini will tell her story. If/when she does, one line of questioning will focus on the time they rented a boat, while she was married to someone else.
The most important question is whether Vrabel will be able to continue to coach the Patriots. He missed the third day of the 2026 NFL draft to attend “counseling.” Every additional piece of evidence that confirms the existence and duration of the relationship could the thing that forces Vrabel to step aside, for the 2026 season or perhaps longer.
Free agent cornerback L’Jarius Sneed is no longer facing any criminal charges in Texas.
Sneed’s attorney Michael J. Todd told ESPN that all of the charges against his client have been dropped. Sneed was initially charged with aggravated assault for a December 2024 incident that saw his assistant accused of shooting at another man outside of a car dealership. A grand jury later indicted Sneed on a lesser charge of failure to report a felony, but he is now clear of all charges.
A lawsuit filed against Sneed related to the incident is still pending.
Sneed was released by the Titans in March. He was limited to 12 games over the last two seasons due to injuries and had 26 tackles in seven appearances last season.
Titans receiver Carnell Tate, one of my personal favorite 2026 prospects because of his Lego habit, said in the hours before he was drafted that he would “give up the bank” to get his preferred number, 17, at the next level.
Ultimately, Tate didn’t even make teammate Chimere Dike an offer.
At rookie minicamp, Tate told reporters that he didn’t want to “bother” Dike with it. Instead, Tate picked No. 14 for his “new team, new journey.”
Tate said 14 was the “best number available.” He also said it made sense because his mother was born on November 14, and because he was taken by the Titans in round 1, pick 4.
Dike, for his part, may have been ready to start the bidding. Tate said he was willing to pay in the “upper hundred thousands” for 17.
On one hand, a player’s number doesn’t mean anything. On another hand, it means everything. For a player who has become identified with a given number, or who has made that number part of his own personal identity, it’s an adjustment to change it. Tate is processing the adjustment by making the new number part of the new everything he’ll be experiencing.
If his career goes the way he and the Titans hope, Tate will quickly be identified by NFL fans everywhere as 14, the same way other great NFL receivers became known for the numbers they wore. Or, for one specific all-time great, it won’t matter which number he wears.
Randy Moss isn’t known as being 88 (at Marshall) or 84 (at Minnesota) or 18 (at Oakland) or 81 (at New England). He’s simply known as being Randy Moss.
Carnell Tate’s ultimate goal should be the same. Don’t be known as 17 or 14 or any other number. Be known as Carnell Tate.
Either way, he saved plenty of money by not trying to get Dike to give up 17. And that money can buy a lot of Lego sets.
In 2015, Robert Saleh was the Jaguars’ linebackers coach when they used the No. 3 overall pick in the draft on pass rusher Dante Fowler. During the first drill of Fowler’s first minicamp practice in the NFL, he tore his ACL, ending his rookie season before it began. Saleh hasn’t forgotten.
Saleh, now the head coach of the Titans, said today that he takes it very easy on drafted players at rookie minicamps because he knows that the draft process is long and requires flying all over the country to get poked and prodded by NFL teams. So while the undrafted rookies who didn’t do a lot of pre-draft visits will be on the practice field, the drafted players will be working with the strength and conditioning coaches to see where their bodies are after all that pre-draft work.
“When they’re going through the draft prospects, they’ve been through a lot of traveling,” Saleh said. “So over the weekend, with our draft picks, we’re going to be doing more baseline checking with them. So they’ll be with the strength and conditioning coaches. They’re meeting with all of us throughout the day, but as far as practice goes they’ll be with the strength and conditioning staff, creating a baseline to see where they’re at.”
Saleh said he still thinks about Fowler’s injury and how to prevent anything like that from happening again.
“Call it a scar. I was on the staff that saw Dante Fowler tear his ACL on the first rep of rookie minicamp,” Saleh said. “So I’ve just taken the philosophy of these guys have had a lot of stress over the last month. Their bodies aren’t ready for football, so we’re trying to see where they’re at so we can get them properly acclimated when they’re here with the veterans.”
The Texans have brought defensive end Ali Gaye back for a second tour of duty with the team.
Gaye was waived by the Titans on Thursday and multiple reports on Friday say that the Texans have claimed him.
Gaye spent 2023 on Houston’s practice squad and moved on to the Titans after being waived in August 2024. He played 15 games in 2024 and returned to the Titans to appear in three games last year.
Gaye had nine tackles, three tackles for loss and a sack in his 18 appearances for Tennessee. He will vie for a role behind Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter at defensive end now that he is back in Houston.
The Titans signed five draft picks this week and they’ve also added 11 undrafted free agents to their roster.
Wide receiver Tyren Montgomery is part of the group as he tries to make the jump from D3 John Carroll to the NFL. Montgomery caught 119 passes for 1,528 yards and 15 touchdowns in his final college season.
The Titans have also signed UTSA linebacker Shad Banks, Illinois wide receiver Hank Beatty, N.C. State linebacker Sean Brown, USC safety Bishop Fitzgerald, Clemson cornerback Jeadyn Lukus, Houston cornerback Latrell McCutchin, Tennessee cornerback Jalen McMurray, Louisville tackle Rasheed Miller, Purdue linebacker Mani Powell, and Notre Dame tackle Aamil Wagner.
All the newly signed players are taking part in the team’s rookie minicamp this weekend.
The Titans signed most of their 2026 draft class today.
Tennessee announced that it signed five of its eight draft picks on Thursday: Fifth-round guard Fernando Carmona Jr, fifth-round running back Nick Singleton, sixth-round defensive tackle Jackie Marshall, sixth-round center Pat Coogan and seventh-round tight end Jaren Kanak.
Still unsigned are first-round wide receiver Carnell Tate, first-round edge rusher Keldric Faulk and second-round linebacker Anthnony Hill Jr.
All eight Titans draft picks will be with the team this weekend at the rookie minicamp.
