The New England Patriots are coming off a brutal loss in the Super Bowl to the Seattle Seahawks. However, rather than how the Pats would get back to the mountaintop, the offseason was dominated by tabloid-adjacent headlines.
After pictures were published of head coach Mike Vrabel spending time with reporter Dianna Russini at an adults-only resort in Arizona, more photos of them over the years continued to find their way online, resulting in a full-blown news cycle that resulted in Russini stepping down from her role with The Athletic and Vrabel attending counseling.
In the aftermath of what has already been an eventful offseason, Vrabel is now confirming some bad news for the Patriots’ 2026-27 team regarding tight end Julian Hill and a knee injury he suffered during a voluntary offseason practice.
“Julian won’t be able to play this season, plain and simple. Devastating. Awful. I really enjoyed the person and want to have him around here as much as we possibly can. He won’t be able to play this season,” Vrabel [said, per the _NY Post_](https://nypost.com/2026/06/03/sports/patriots-lose-15-million-free-agent-signing-julian-hill-for-season/)_._
“That’s just disappointing because of the impact he made in a short amount of time with his teammates, the person that he is, the way he practiced,” Vrabel said. “We want Julian to be a part of us as much as possible, but he’s not going to do that on the field this year.”
New England had just inked Hill to a three-year, $15 million deal in March. Hopefully, he’ll make a full recovery and return to the field at the top of his game