The calendar has turned from March to April, which means that the 2026 NFL Draft is drawing ever so close. For the New England Patriots it is one they will try to use to further strengthen their position as a Super Bowl contender: depth needs to be improved, holes need to be plugged, the future needs to be prepared.
The draft remains the main focus at the moment, but the NFL never sleeps either. And so, with that in mind, let’s clean out the notebook from the week that was. Welcome to the latest addition
of our Sunday Patriots Notes.
No need for need
Mike Vrabel met with reporters at the annual league meetings in Phoenix this week, and the first question he was asked at the AFC Coaches Breakfast touched on his team’s draft strategy. Would the Patriots, with free agency in the rear-view mirror and the investments that were made, still be forced to draft for need?
For the reigning NFL Coach of the Year, the answer was straight-forward.
“I don’t think you should ever draft for need. That’s not a position that you ever want to be in,” Vrabel explained.
On paper, the Patriots are in a solid position in that regard. They added starter-level contributors at several positions through the open market — left guard, fullback, edge, safety — and don’t have any glaring holes remaining.
That said, there are certain areas that are calling louder for additional help than others. Defensive line and edge depth remain a concern, while the long-term outlook at wide receiver, tight end, offensive tackle and linebacker is a question mark as well.
That said, the Patriots’ HC is pleased with the roster as it currently stands.
“I love all our players,” he said. “Certainly the free agents that we were able to acquire were a collaborative effort between the coaches and the personnel and myself, and being able to add guys that we believe in and that can help us. And then we’ll continue to add guys. That’s kind of how this thing goes, but I do think that every year is different. There’s change in coaching staff, and the personnel, and the players. I like the guys that we were able to add, and we’ll continue to try to strengthen the roster.”
Focus on versatility
The Patriots’ first signing in free agency was reported mere minutes into the legal tampering window, with Dre’Mont Jones joining the club on a three-year, $36.5 million deal to provide starter-level experience on the edge. One of the reasons why the club was interested in Jones was his ability to align both inside and outside.
For Mike Vrabel, versatility like that is that the heart of his team’s roster construction.
“It’s so critical when you only have 48 players on the active roster on Sundays,” Vrabel said. “Eight of them are O-linemen; they’re not doing anything but blocking. Two of them are quarterbacks; last year there was three of them. You have a kicker, a punter, a snapper. The list gets limited there.”
Jones is not the only versatile piece added by the team. Guard Alijah Vera-Tucker has experience at four of the five offensive line positions, while wide receiver Romeo Doubs can play both the X and the Z-receiver role.
“When you have guys that can play more than one position, linebacker or safety, and maybe a linebacker on third down or a sub ‘backer, or you have an outside linebacker that can go inside on third down or passing downs, we would love to have as many players that are as versatile as possible,” said Vrabel.
Thoughts on Bradbury
Before free agency kicked off, the Patriots decided to move on from one of their most-used players of 2025: starting center Garrett Bradbury, who had joined the organization the previous offseason, was shipped to Chicago in exchange for a 2027 fifth-round draft choice.
Despite his tenure ending in that fashion, Mike Vrabel had nothing but nice things to say about the 30-year-old.
“Just touching on his professionalism,” Vrabel pointed out. “Every day, he came to work, he was prepared. Really led the offensive line. Great energy, connection with the quarterback, his durability, consistency.”
Bradbury started all 17 regular season games for the Patriots as well as their four playoff contests. However, with youngster Jared Wilson ready to make the move back to his natural position at center, the team decided to part ways with the long-time Viking — a player now returning to the NFC North.
So, what type of player are the Bears getting?
“They’re getting somebody that loves football, loves his teammates,” Vrabel said. “He brought certainly a leadership to us that we needed last year. There was a consistency, durability. That’s what they’re getting. They’re getting a pro who’s going to be prepared. He’s going to make the calls. He’s going to communicate. But Garrett also loves the process of football, the offseason, the weekly preparation with his teammates and his coaches.”
Back on committee
Even though there are still plenty and obvious ties to Bill Belichick, it is clear that Mike Vrabel’s arrival ushered in a new era in Foxborough. One recent example of that is Vrabel joining the competition committee, which historically has been at odds with the Patriots’ long-time coach.
Vrabel, meanwhile, sees his return to the committee — he already served on it when he was with the Titans — as a chance to positively impact the game.
“Having been asked to be on the competition committee during my time at Tennessee, that’s recently something that I’ve been invited back on,” he said. “I think that that’s been fun and and been something that I’ve always enjoyed, try to do what’s best for the game, do what’s best for our fans, and find ways to make the game better and safer for our players.”
Levels of dysfunction
Mike Vrabel was not the only Patriots representative in the spotlight this week. Executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf, the team’s de facto general manager, also met with the media. And in doing so, he briefly touched on the franchise finally returning to a state of calm with Vrabel’s arrival last January.
“I definitely think it’s more enjoyable,” Wolf said. “We had varying levels of dysfunction over the last three years, before 2025, and it was kind of rewarding to be able to, first of all, we won, but we also had some stability for the first time in a few years. That’s always rewarding and just kind of understanding that for our staff, it’s easier for them to understand exactly what kind of players we’re looking for. So in those areas, it’s been fun.”
The final few years of the Bill Belichick era were famously marked by internal issues, including ownership starting to insert itself into operations more than it previously had. Vrabel’s return, which was preceded by Jerod Mayo’s unsuccessful one-year stint as Belichick’s hand-picked successor, has seemingly created a more productive atmosphere at One Patriot Place again.
Avoiding void years
The Patriots signed 12 outside free agents this offseason and also retained backup quarterback Tommy DeVito on a two-year extension, and yet they structured all of the contracts relatively conventionally. As opposed to several other teams in the NFL, they have not used any void years.
In fact, as a recent analysis using numbers from Over the Cap shows, the Patriots are one of only six teams in the NFL to have no void years whatsoever in their contracts. The only others are the Titans, Steelers, Chargers, Giants and Bears.
Using void years allows teams to prorate signing and guaranteed roster bonuses beyond the normal length of a deal. This brings down cap hits throughout — $10 million divided by six years is different than being divided by four, for example — but obviously means a player is on the books longer than he would be without the void years added.
The Patriots deciding against what has become an increasingly popular tactic through the years is no surprise. While they did see significant change atop their football operations in the last few years, the salary cap is still being managed by director of research Richard Miller, who has been with the team since 1996 and who won six Super Bowl rings during the Brady-Belichick era.
Lan Larison’s role models
After missing virtually all of 2025 due to a broken foot, second-year running back Lan Larison will be trying to earn a role on the roster this summer. To do so, he will try to take advantage of the lessons he learned during his rookie campaign.
Part of those lessons was looking up to the more experienced players in the room, something he has done since his college career at UC Davis.
“It was really cool to see how much they just embraced all the rookies and wanted to lead the way. It felt like I was at home at Davis in that way,” he said about entering the Patriots locker room as an undrafted free agent in 2025. “Rhamondre [Stevenson], he took took both me and Tre[Veyon Henderson] under his wing right away and he was an awesome role model for me within the running back room.
“Other guys that I looked up to, like special teams players, Brenden Schooler. He’s a dog. I freaking enjoy him. He’s a good dude. His locker was right across from mine. And then ‘Mondre was next to me and so was Trey. It was fun to get in that environment and see just the way they carry themselves and the way that they play.”
Drake Maye’s sacrifice
Drake Maye is following in Tom Brady’s footsteps. Like his predecessor as Patriots starting quarterback, the third-year passer also has now gotten his head shaved for charity.
Maye was the headline guest at the 13th annual Saving by Shaving event hosted by Granite Telecommunications in Quincy, MA, this week. His wife, Ann Michael, provided the first buzz.
“”We love kids,“ Maye said. “They’re oftentimes the biggest fans of us players, and I think it’s just such a cool experience to be able to shine a positive light and to be there for them and help any way that we can.”
Proceeds from the event benefitted Boston Children’s Hospital. If you want to contribute yourself, please click here.
Replacement ref preparation
The Collective Bargaining Agreement between the NFL and the NFL Referees Association is set to expire in late May, and the league has taken steps to prepare for a potential lockout. With negotiations between the two sides having stalled, after all, such a lockout seems like a realistic option.
The step in question regards a role change proposal that was passed this week that will allow the league’s officiating department to “correct clear and obvious misses made by on-field officials that impact the game, in the event that there is a work stoppage involving the game officials represented by the NFL Referees Association.”
The last such lockout appeared in 2012, and back then the league appears to have underestimated the issue; replacement referees where not prepared until late in the summer, resulting in dubious calls like the infamous “Fail Mary” play or, from a Patriots perspective, a game-winning field goal attempt by the Ravens against New England being called good despite visual evidence to the contrary.
Week ahead
With no fixed dates on the itinerary, the Patriots’ upcoming week will be fairly quiet. That doesn’t mean there will be no news. The team still has a chance to host players on pre-draft visits, and also will continue working toward a contract extension with star cornerback Christian Gonzalez. In addition, free agency and the trade window are still going on, meaning that the potential for more roster movement continues to exist.
