Good morning. Stepping in for Steve this week, which certainly sets up some big shoes to fill, especially during one of the quieter parts of the offseason.
Hopefully, he feels better soon and will be back next weekend. Nobody does these columns as well as Steve. He’s absolutely one of the best and I’m fortunate to have both met and become friends with him over this last decade-plus. Time certainly flies.
So fingers crossed he gets healthy and he’ll pick up where he left off from last week’s column. And feel free to drop him a quick note to wish him well in the comment section of that article.
In the meantime, here is this morning’s Sunday Patriots news edition for 6/22/25.
Quick Hitters For the Patriots and NFL News:
Craig Woodson: The Patriots got the rookie fourth round safety under contract on Friday, leaving fellow rookie TreVeyon Henderson as the final draft pick who has yet to sign with just over a month to go until training camp kicks off. Mike Reiss reported on Friday that like other second-round picks, he believes the percentage of guaranteed money “is the root of the delay” when it comes to Henderson, which will obviously be something to keep an eye on over these next few weeks.
TreyVeyon Henderson: Speaking of Henderson, Joe Orrico, who owns, “NoExpertFantasyFootball.com” pointed out a fun fact on Saturday. He mentioned that Henderson has 0 fumbles on over 650 career touches, which is something that likely sat well during the Patriots’ evaluations.
Henderson talked about ball security the day he was selected, saying that not giving the football up is critical, noting that it was a big point of emphasis in college.
“Very important,” he said. “That’s something we did almost every week at Ohio State. I know we put the ball on the ground, it’s a high possibility you’re coming out, and you’re probably not playing again. And so that encouraged me a lot to hold on to the ball because it can cause a team, especially in those big matchup games. And so that’s something that I’m looking forward to carrying on to the next level as well, just holding on to the ball.”
Rhamondre Stevenson: When it comes to fumbles, obviously Stevenson had a rough year in 2024, but it was interesting that Vrabel did stick up for him when it came to that category back in February.
Vrabel hinted that more than one of Stevenson’s fumbles came after he was hit early in the backfield, and that’s an area where they also need to do a better job providing him some help this fall.
“We can look back and say, ‘Yeah, Rhamondre had some issues holding on to the football that year.’ But we also didn’t finish two or three blocks on the backside that allowed the second guy to come in as he’s trying to make somebody miss, or he’s trying to stiff-arm somebody,” said Vrabel during an appearance on Sirius XM NFL Radio back in February via Bernd Buchmasser of PatsPulpit.
“We’ve got somebody that’s not protecting the guy with the ball. It’s my job to one, show them and explain to them that, ‘Yeah, Rhamondre has a job.’ He understands that, and we’ve talked to him about that. But we also have an obligation for the rest of the guys to protect the guy who has the ball.”
Stevenson has had a difficult offseason, having lost his father this spring, which saw him absent for a portion of the team’s practices. Vrabel was supportive of his young running back, and he’s said since being hired that Stevenson is absolutely an important part of their plans heading into this season.
Ja’Lynn Polk: Mike Reiss made an interesting point last week when it came to Polk, which was mentioned in this space Friday. Reiss believes that the key thing with Polk when it comes to whether or not he’ll buy himself another shot is “assuming he buys in to the “effort and finish” mentality of the new staff.” That might mean if he shows up all-in and makes strides in August, that effort and commitment should be enough to make him stick.
If he struggles and looks downtrodden, that’s when things might get interesting. With Vrabel now at the helm, he may not get as many chances as we’ve seen previously with past players. Despite the fact Polk is coming off an injury, what he does when he’s medically cleared is going to be interesting to watch. His “best hands in the league” comment came off a little strange last year, and it doesn’t feel like Vrabel is going to be the type of guy to stick with a guy he doesn’t feel will help them.
Reiss believes Polk might start off camp on PUP. If that’s how it plays out, it will also be interesting to see if that carries over into the early part of the season for the sake of seeing Polk survive what already looks to be aa comepetitive group of receivers.
Derby and Andrews came in together: One cool part of the montage that was shown during David Andrews’ retirement ceremony was the fact that former Patriots tight end A.J. Derby was part of the group who wished Andrews well, which at first was interesting given that Derby couldn’t quite break through here. But as Andrews explained, the two came in together. Derby was a 6th-round pick out of Arkansas in 2015, while Andrews was an undrafted player that same season.
“I lived with A.J. Derby in the Residence Inn Foxborough for our first whole rookie offseason and still have a great relationship with him. It’s great because, like I said, that’s what makes the game special is the relationships and getting to go out there and compete and go through something hard with someone else beside you, knowing you got his back, he’s got yours. I had a lot of success with a lot of those people.”
Derby was injured in his first season and was ultimately traded the following year, while his roommate ended up breaking into the line-up, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Forged in Foxborough: It looks like we have a clue when the next edition is coming in what was a strong first episode. The team revealed on the latest edition of All Access that the next episode is coming on August 3rd, which will air with the first one on TV 38. One would also believe we’ll see it on YouTube not long after.
Mike Vrabel
(PHOTO: Eric Canha-Imagn Images)
Vrabel Setting The Vibe Ahead of Camp
It’s already been an exciting few months since Vrabel was hired as head coach, and that buzz has remained through the club’s spring sessions.
There’s definitely a different energy when it comes to this year’s Patriots, with Vrabel continuing to raise the bar for a football team that has won just eight games over the last two years.
Mike Giardi said it best last week during an appearance on NBC Sports Boston when it came to the former linebacker. Giardi feels Vrabel has put together an impressive program this spring that he believes looks far better than it did leading up to the end of Bill Belichick’s career in New England, and obviously last season.
“He has given them direction that they had been lacking,” said Giardi. “It wasn’t just last year. It was the last couple of years of Bill, too. They have a guy now who knows what he wants. He knows how to get it. He has a proven track record. It wasn’t awesome in Tennessee, but there was a three-year period where it was pretty awesome. I think he’s grown from that experience as well. So, to me, having him in place changes everything that you think about from this football team.”
Following the hiring of Jerod Mayo last offseason, the lack of a quarterback and a team with so many holes seemed to set the stage for a long rebuild.
Drafting Drake Maye helped them at least potentially find a quarterback, but one year and one frustrating season later, it was obvious that the problems extended beyond personnel, and Vrabel already has them looking like a team who should be a nuisance for opponents this fall.
Mike Vrabel
(PHOTO: USA TODAY Sports)
Roster Moves Spark Memories of 2001
Strangely enough, the approach Bill Belichick took the same year that Vrabel joined the team is the approach that he seems to be applying to his own football team. Coming off that 5-11 2000 season, Belichick made some significant moves to change the culture of his locker room.
Vrabel has essentially done the same thing. He’s swept out guys who were either underperforming, or simply not part of the long-term plan, and brought in guys who he had expeirence with as being not just good football players, but great teammates.
“I think they got some high character football players for starters,” said Giardi on why he feels this year will be different from what we saw in 2024. “I think it’s going to be a more aggressive system that these players, Milton Williams and Robert Spillane, the linebacker in particular, fit into. To me, it wasn’t like they didn’t try to spend on offense. I think had they had their druthers, they would have spent a ton of money on Ronny Stanley and Chris Godwin. They got $30 million a year for Godwin. Couldn’t get those guys.”
“So, okay, we’re shut out in this part of it. Where are the best players? Well, it’s Milton Williams, it’s Robert Spillane. It’s some of these guys, Carlton Davis. Go get them. So they had a quick plan to pivot. They did, and they brought in some good football players. It should benefit them.”
The reference to 2001 has less to do with predicting a Super Bowl and more to do with the fact that was a team that already had some good guys in the locker room. But the addition of players like Anthony Pleasant, Roman Phifer, Brian Cox, added to a team that already had guys like Willie McGinest, Tedy Bruschi, Ty Law, and a pretty talented rookie in Richard Seymour. But that group helped push them over the top, and they played a key role as the club won its first championship.
Mike Vrabel with Keion White, and K'Lavon Chaisson.
(PHOTO: Eric Canha-Imagn Images)
Organized and Competitive
Those are two words that probably best describe what we saw this spring.
Fans won’t get to see it for a few weeks, but when they do, Greg Bedard of Boston Sports Journal already said they’ll find out first hand just how different this club operates under Vrabel when New England takes the field on the practice fields behind Gillette Stadium.
“I can’t wait for people to get to training camp and see it for themselves, but it’s just a complete 180 from where they were last year,” said Bedard last week on his podcast with co-host, Nick Cattles. “And it’s palpable. You can hear it, you can feel it, you could see it in the players, you could see it with the urgency, you can see the way they execute. And I’m sure we’re going to talk about that. But it’s night and day, really, compared to where they were last year.”
Bedard also pointed out the fact Vrabel has been empowering Drake Maye, including having the young quarterback change up his cadence during sprints to try and push his teammates to both listen to his voice, but also to focus in on the snap count.
He revealed that in one session, Maye got Layden Robinson to jump, with Jeremiah Pharms also falling victim. But Bedard witnessed an interaction that already shows Vrabel’s in control, and guys are paying attention.
“There was a number 98 went offsides during… Jeremiah Pharms went offsides, and during an 11 on 11. And Vrabel told him to move the ball up five yards. Anthony Jennings was asking Vrabel what the deal was. Vrabel was like, ‘He went offsides. Stop screwing around. Let’s get with it.” And so that stuff is going on all the time.”
The Patriots have yet to even play a game. Yet the feeling right now is that if you put them out there against any team, you really have no idea what to expect, and most fans wouldn’t be surprised if they walked off the field with a win.
Why? Mostly because Vrabel has brought a level of competency that’s been lacking here for a while now. Take into account that they’ve also got a fairly talented group on defense, and Vrabel quietly inherited a roster with talent that vastly underperformed where they should have a year ago
They were last in the league in sacks with 28 last season. Most of the teams in the top 10 were in the 40s, while Denver led everyone with 63.
They were 27th in the league with forced fumbles with 9, and 26th in interceptions last year with 7. Those two stats stem from the fact that guys weren’t in a position to make plays.
Watching that group flail as the game went on and not get any help with adjustments in the second half from the coaching staff was maddening. Mayo stood on the sidelines looking frustrated while Demarcus Covington didn’t have the experience or the ability to react on the fly. It felt like Maye sort of left the guys on an island and was more of a big picture guy than being the hands-on guy that Vrabel’s been.
As a result, between Vrabel and guys like Terrell Williams, Zak Kuhr, and a staff that is far more experienced than last year’s group, we shouldn’t see those problems this year.
For now, there’s an excitement that’s been missing, and most fans are just looking forward to things getting started. It’s just unfortunate there’s still another month to go before we finally see them back out on the field. Fortunately, with Vrabel, it feels like it will definitely be worth the wait.
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.
View all posts by Ian Logue
Patriots News 6/22: Mood in Foxboro is ‘Palpable’
9 minutes ago
Patriots News 6/20: Debate Continues on Maye, Polk Facing Tough Battle
2 days ago
MORSE: Patriots Positional Analysis Going Into Camp, QB/RB and WR
2 days ago
Patriots News 6/19: Insider Casts Doubt on Maye, Coach: ‘Silly’ Not to Put Chism on Roster
3 days ago
Patriots News 6/18: Surprise Candidate at Guard, Former Captain Joins 98.5 This Season
4 days ago
VIEW MORE PATRIOTS HEADLINES