Mike Vrabel did Dianna Russini no favors with his statement

For more than two minutes on Tuesday, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel basically said nothing about the controversy that has been the top story in the NFL for two weeks. He also said everything.

Vrabel referred to the photos published two weeks ago by the New York Post of Vrabel with former Athletic reporter Dianna Russini as a "personal and private matter." He had a "conversation" with the players about it.

He said he had "some difficult conversations with people that I care about." He said that the team needs to "make good decisions" on and off the field — and "that starts with me." He said, "You never want to be the cause of a distraction."

The tone and content represent a sharp departure from what Vrabel said when the issue first emerged, in comments that reportedly were the result of coordination with Russini regarding the strategy for responding to the looming publication of the photos.

Said Russini at the time: "The photos don’t represent the group of six people who were hanging out during the day. Like most journalists in the NFL, reporters interact with sources away from stadiums and other venues."

Russini hasn't wavered from that position. In her resignation letter, Russini blamed the uproar on "commentators in various media [who] have engaged in self-feeding speculation that is simply unmoored from the facts."

She explained that she was stepping down from her job "not because I accept the narrative that has been constructed around this episode, but because I refuse to lend it further oxygen or to let it define me or my career.”

Vrabel's comments give plenty of oxygen to the narrative. Which could make it even harder for Russini to rebound from the situation.

In contrast, Vrabel will by all appearances be moving forward.