Dianna Russini is one of the most prominent sports journalists who worked in the NFL. She was the lead NFL insider for The Athletic and previously worked for ESPN and appeared frequently on NFL Live and Sunday NFL Countdown.
Recently, she became embroiled in a serious controversy with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel. With much focus on her, one of her former coworkers has spoken on the matter.
Chase Daniel speaks on Dianna Russini-Mike Vrabel scandal
Russini has faced much negative attention on her ever since photos of her being intimate and close with Vrabel were published by multiple outlets. Over the weeks, multiple photos from different years have been published. While Vrabel is still the head coach of the Patriots, Russini resigned from The Athletic with an internal investigation ongoing.
Dianna Russini
ESPN’s Dianna Russini photographed for (201) Magazine at Northern Valley Regional High School in Old Tappan, NJ on Aug. 24, 2020. © Mitsu Yasukawa / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
After much time has passed, one of Russini’s coworkers at The Athletic has finally addressed her alleged affair with Vrabel. Former NFL quarterback Chase Daniel co-hosted the popular “Scoop City” podcast with Russini on The Athletic. He recently made an appearance on The Jim Rome Show on May 15, 2026. When asked about his former co-worker’s situation, Daniel did not feel like the matter was that serious and downplayed it.
He said, “Look, that’s something that’s unfortunate in many different ways. We haven’t really chatted about it. We haven’t done any of that, so I’m going to leave that there. That’s their business. It has turned into quite the assignment of everything, it’s like TMZ is covering it, the Wall Street Journal, all these things are covering it, so I’m sure she’ll land on her feet somewhere, and that’s all I’ll really say about that.”
Currently, the “Scoop City” podcast has been placed in transition while Daniel’s contract for the show already expired. Along with Daniels, another former NFL player has given his own opinion on the matter.
Chad Johnson weighs in on Dianna Russini-Mike Vrabel scandal
Former NFL wide receiver and Cincinnati Bengals legend Chad Johnson recently spoke on the scandal. According to him, scandals like this are common in professional football, with most being kept secret.
He said, “We’ve been in this lifestyle so much, we’ve seen so many situations, so many cases, even some that weren’t made public or we knew about it behind closed doors. But we’ve situations like this so much, so often. To others, the regular folk are like, ‘Oh My God, what is going on? This needs to be talked about.’ And I’m thinking like it’s normal.”
It remains to be seen what new developments occur in the Dianna Russini-Mike Vrabel scandal.