On Thursday, the Patriots hosted an introductory press conference for the free agent signings of Milton Williams, Carlton Davis III, Robert Spillane and Morgan Moses.
In addition to all four players answering questions from the assembled press in the GP Atrium at Gillette Stadium, we also individually heard from Robert Kraft, Eliot Wolf and Mike Vrabel.
This was the first time the Patriots had held a press conference at Gillette Stadium since the introductory press conference for Vrabel in January. Since then, the team has hired a completely new coaching staff, added new faces to both the front office and football operations side of the team, and signed a bevy of players in free agency since officially opening on Wednesday.
Kraft opened the speaking portion of the event, joking that he’s been so excited about “what’s coming” that he’s been told to “calm down.”
“As we look ahead and we continue to build for the future, we've made some wonderful key additions to this team, and I'm happy to welcome them to the Patriot family,” said the team chairman and CEO. “Actually looking forward to seeing the impact they're going to have hopefully on game day. We are really committed to building a team which all of our fans can be proud of.
“I was saying to one of the players - I sat for the 30-odd years, I went to the four stadiums and came here in '71. That was the first time I bought season tickets. Really appreciate how special this team is. I've been so honored to be able to buy an NFL team in my hometown, so I understand what the fans want. I'll just tell you, I'm very excited about the people we've brought in here, and I just hope we really perform come when the season starts.”
If Kraft is looking for someone to thank for the people they’ve brought in, he doesn’t have to look much further than his head coach.
All four players made a point to highlight the 49-year-old as one of the main factors for signing with the Patriots despite consecutive four-win seasons on the field for the organization.
And this didn’t sound like the generic stuff you typically hear about a head coach from newly signed players at press conferences.
These players’ remarks about Vrabel felt genuine.
“I know the question is coming about what was the pitch of coming here. But when you've got a guy like Coach Vrabel, you don't need a pitch,” said Moses. “I know how it is to hold the bag for our offensive line and D-linemen out there at practice when I'm holding my son's bags or I'm coaching his team, and it hurts when you don't got pads on. So for a guy like that to go out there and do that, and obviously he's won in multiple facets of his career, as a player and as a coach. When you've got a guy, a leader of men that's willing to step aside and put himself on the line for the betterment of the team, it's an easy decision.”
The 34-year-old right tackle believes Vrabel’s presence, in addition to adding multiple champions in free agency, will be part of what instills both a culture and sense of urgency for the Patriots in 2025.
“You know, you don't need a miracle to win football games,” said Moses. “You just need the right people in the building. Obviously with Coach Vrabel here, we've got the right people. Our owner is an amazing owner, and then obviously we've got the right people here.
“[Davis] won a Super Bowl. Milton just won a Super Bowl. They're going to bring knowledge of the game on how to bring longevity through those weeks of week 18, 19, 20 when it hurts, when people want to tap out, how to keep going. It's important for us to be able to learn from one another, and everybody has different qualities.”
While Moses had not crossed paths with Vrabel during his 11-year playing career, Spillane has Vrabel to thank for the start of his.
As a linebacker coming out of Western Michigan, Spillane was an undrafted free agent in Titans training camp back in 2018. After being relegated to Tennessee’s practice squad at the end of camp, he was promoted to the active roster by October of that season. While he was released after only spending three weeks on the roster, it was clear from Wednesday’s press conference that the 29-year-old’s affection for Vrabel is as real as it gets.
“I've known Coach Vrabel from a young age, from high school when he was a recruiter at Ohio State,” said Spillane. “I always admired his playing career and his coaching career. When you get around a guy like Coach Vrabel, you really feel that intensity, you feel that passion. I like to say I fall into that same boat of intensity and passion and heart. I've gotten along with him great in Tennessee, and I can't wait to continue to form that relationship.”
While Spillane has been an admirer of Vrabel on a personal level since he was a teen, Davis III has liked what he’s seen from Vrabel as a coach from a far.
“I've always been a fan of Mike and how he ran Tennessee,” said Davis III. “That was part of the decision [to sign with the Patriots], and I'm happy to be here.”
In addition to his admiration for Vrabel, the 28-year-old cornerback said his connection with defensive coordinator Terrell Williams through their shared time together in Detroit aided in him choosing New England.
“Like I said, I've always been a fan of Mike, even down in Tennessee,” said Davis III. “And ‘Big T’ [Terrell Williams] coming here and being a D.C. and just knowing how he was as a coach, understanding the room I was coming into, the talent I could play with and just the ability to be able to come somewhere and build something and come somewhere and start a legacy was big for me.”
For defensive tackle Milton Williams, it would be hard to look past his franchise-record contract for any other reason why the 25-year-old would have selected the Patriots as his next football home over somewhere else. At four years and $104 million, there’s few things in life that could trump that type of money.
Even with that, Williams made mention of Vrabel - as well as Kraft - for setting the type of culture he wanted to play in moving forward.
“I'm just blessed to be here, blessed to have the opportunity to represent such a winning organization,” said Williams. “You feel it once you come through these doors. The standard that Mr. Kraft and Coach Vrabel that they set, you feel that. I just want to continue to do that and build this team up to bring more championships.”
During Vrabel’s time at the podium, he mentioned that the Patriots will be giving Williams a lot more playing time than he got while playing for the Super Bowl champion Eagles in 2024 - where the 6-foot-3, 291-pound defensive tackle only played in about 46% of Philadelphia’s defensive snaps.
Williams welcomes the playing time from his new head coach.
“The more you're out there, the more opportunity you've got to make plays,” said Williams. “I pride myself on being productive on wherever I line up on the defensive line, and I'm going to bring that here.”
With Spillane having previously played for Vrabel, Davis having previously played for a defensive coaching staff that included Terrell Williams, and Moses having previously played for an offensive coaching staff that included new Patriots wide receiver coach Todd Downing, there has been criticism from fans and media alike that the Vrabel regime has been too focused on signing players they have previous history with.
And while he wasn’t a part of Thursday’s press conference (signing his contract in Foxborough on Wednesday before returning to a family vacation), new Patriots linebacker Harold Landry also falls into this bucket, as he was drafted by Vrabel in Tennessee in 2018.
Should this be viewed as a problem?
Vrabel doesn’t think so.
“I don't know how you could do free agency any differently, I really don’t,” said the 2021 NFL Coach of the Year. “Just the timing that's involved with a lot of this stuff -- it's important to me, and Robert has trusted Eliot and myself to bring the right people onto this football team. If we have coaches that we trust and believe in and have been with players, we have to take that into consideration. If there's players that Eliot or anybody else in the personnel department have had or myself, I think that's critical.
“We have to evaluate the tape. That's the first thing we do. We watch the tape, and then it's, ‘What is this person? Who are we going to get every single day?’ Because there's going to be times in every football season that it's not going well. I've seen it from these players that they're not going anywhere, and the other ones that we bring in and the other ones that are down in that locker room right now.
“They're resilient. They're not going to back down when things aren't bad. They can handle adversity. They'll attack adversity. So that's what the idea is, and it really helps when you know somebody or a coach or a trusted personnel member has been with that player. It's just hard. It's important.”
It’s clear that Vrabel values personal relationships. And so far this offseason, those relationships have paid off in the way of injecting veteran talent to a depleted roster through free agency.
While the players they’ve added so far are an upgrade from what was here in 2024, there’s still glaring needs at wide receiver and left tackle.
Let’s see if Vrabel leans on his network to fill those obvious gaps, or if he and his staff will be willing to get out of their comfort zone - like they did for Williams - to bring in the best available players at either position.
The Patriots will be back at the podium at Gillette Stadium on Friday, where two more players will be officially announced as new members of the organization. Which two players will be addressing the media and taking pictures with their jerseys is to be determined at the time of publishing.
Stay locked in to WEEI and WEEI.com for all the latest on the Patriots’ offseason.