Roger Goodell breaks silence on Mike Vrabel, potential punishment

Mike Vrabel is not under investigation by the NFL, following the leaked photos of the New England Patriots coach with reporter Dianna Russini.

The images were taken at a luxury resort in Arizona, where Vrabel and Russini, who are both married, appeared to be holding hands and embracing. Since the photos leaked, Russini resigned from her job at The Athletic.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell commented on the matter ahead of the first round in the 2026 NFL Draft on Thursday. He called the entire situation a "personal matter" and explained that he'd rather leave it at that.

"No, this is not a personal conduct policy, as we know today. It's a personal matter, and we'll leave it at that," Goodell said, via The Athletic's Chad Graff.

Through a statement to ESPN, Vrabel revealed that he was stepping away from the team during Day 3 of the draft on Saturday to seek counseling.

"As I said the other day, I promised my family, this organization and this team that I was going to give them the best version of me that I can possibly give them. In order to do so, I have committed to seeking counseling, starting this weekend," Vrabel said, via ESPN's Mike Reiss. "This is something that I have given a lot of thought to and is something I would advise a player to do if I was counseling them."

The Patriots have eight of their 11 picks slated for Day 3 of the draft. As of right now, executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf and vice president of player personnel Ryan Cowden will be running the show for the team.