Patriots confirm 'no contact' with Mike Vrabel on Day 3 of draft after retracted ESPN report

Q: And just to follow up, when you talked to him last night when Day 2 ended, what kind of message did he leave you guys with headed into today?

EW: Just words of encouragement. He knows he knows our process, and again, we talked about what kind of players we needed to add. We knew what kind of players that he liked, and obviously we drafted some of the guys that he had an affinity for today.

It’s unclear if Vrabel will be missing anymore activities for the Patriots following the draft, though the NFL has made it clear he won’t be investigated for possible violations of the league’s personal conduct policy.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft has also voiced full support for him.

Russini, meanwhile, resigned from The Athletic last week and deleted some of her social media accounts not long before the draft started. She said she made the decision to not give the story “further oxygen,” but The Athletic is still conducting an investigation into her conduct.

This is a story that changed quickly for its participants, as Russini and Vrabel had previously downplayed the initial photos as a mere encounter during trips with their respective friends. That story seems to have fallen apart via questions from The Athletic and more photos of the pair in other locales, and Vrabel has now said “My previous actions don’t meet the standard I hold myself to.”