Vrabel Skips Draft for Counseling Amid Scandal

0:00It's April 23rd from Breaking News to Sunday Matchups. This is NFL News Today, powered by AI. New England Patriots head coach Mike Brabel is skipping day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft to focus on counseling amid that scandal. With reporter Diana Racini. In a statement, he said he's doing this to be the best version of himself for his family, team, and organization, and he'll spend the weekend with his. Loved one's outside Massachusetts. The drama kicked off earlier this month with photos from page 6, showing the two both married with kids, hugging and holding hands at an adult's only. Resort in Arizona, they both called it completely innocent, saying they were there with friends, even though the pics look pretty cozy. Racini, who covered the NFL for over a decade at places like the Athletic and ESPN, ended up resigning from the Athletic before her contract ended. On June 30th, she did it to shut down the story and not let it define her career. But her old employer is still digging into it.

1:01The NFL already said they won't investigate Brabel for any conduct issues, and the Patriots haven't tipped their hand on whether they're looking into anything. Brabel, a Hall of Famer from his playing days with New England, had a killer first year as head coach, going 14 wins and three losses to snag. Coach of the year and a Super Bowl 60 trip, though they fell to Seattle. He's owning this step publicly to lead by example, promising a stronger comeback as husband, dad and coach once he gets through counseling.