Just a few hours ahead of the Patriots holding their first of three mandatory minicamp practices open to the media, the team sent out an email saying Wednesday’s practice would no longer be held.
“The schedule has changed, as players will be in on Wednesday, but there will not be a practice that day,” the email read.
Head coach Mike Vrabel spoke to the media before practice, and addressed why there was a change to the schedule.
“Canceling practice on Wednesday - is that something you’ve done in the past?” asked The Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed. “What’s the thinking behind that?”
“Felt like, hopefully, we could get two good days of work here and get going onto the offseason program,” said Vrabel. “And we’ll still work, I just didn’t wanna come out - we’ll be out on the field, we’ll be lifting and running and meeting.”
WEEI’s Adam Jones explained on Wednesday’s Jones and Keefe why he doesn’t like this schedule change from Vrabel.
“I knew this when the Patriots released their email, but hearing Vrabel talk about it, I didn't love it,” said Jones. “Minicamp can be three days. You could practice on Wednesday. And often Bill [Belichick] didn't, [Jerod] Mayo gave them like a community day in the middle of minicamp last year.
“I don't like that Vrabel is dropping Wednesday, period. I don't like that anyway, and I don't like that he's doing it before they've even hit the field. Like, why don't you see how they do on the field Monday, Tuesday, and then if you feel like they did everything, reward it? Don’t tell them now they have Wednesday off. I don't like that.
“Remember at the beginning of this when it was OTAs, and they said new coaches were allowed to start early?” said WEEI’s Rich Keefe, with Jones jumping in to point out that Mayo did not take advantage of this last spring as a first-year head coach. “They did, so it's kind of surprising, because it felt like he was going to maximize all the time they could possibly have on the field. That’s what it felt like before.”
FOXBOROUGH, MA - JUNE 02: New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel gets involved in a drill during New England Patriots OTA on June 2, 2025, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
“We complimented them,” said Jones. “We were like, ‘I like that they're working out there early this year. They weren't last year.’ Now this is the other direction, which I don't like. We feel consistent on this, Vrabel does not.”
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