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Mike Vrabel addresses the Dianna Russini photos while facing no NFL discipline, even as Russini already lost her job. A.J. Brown to New England gains momentum, Aaron Rodgers leaves Pittsburgh waiting before the draft, and Cleveland's dysfunction deep
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Mike Vrabel finally opens his mouth about the Russini photos, and his big takeaway is basically "I'm gonna be the best version of me going forward." Cool, Mike. Meanwhile — sorry, I mean, at the same time — Dianna Russini already lost her job. Funny how that works.
Welcome to The Sports Hangover Daily, I'm Michael Benatar.
Alright, let's get into it. Mike Vrabel spoke on Tuesday for the first time since those Page Six photos dropped on April 7 showing him holding hands with former Athletic reporter Dianna Russini at a resort in Sedona. Both married to other people. Both initially said the photos didn't accurately reflect what was happening. And then Russini resigned from The Athletic on April 14 while they were still investigating. Vrabel? He's coaching the Patriots. He's prepping for the draft on Thursday. He said he's had "difficult conversations with people I care about" — his family, his coaching staff, his players — and that New England is gonna get "the best version of me going forward."
Look, I'm not here to be the morality police. What people do in their personal lives is their business. But I AM going to point out the obvious — one person in this situation lost their career, and one person is running an NFL team three days before the draft. The NFL already confirmed Vrabel won't face any discipline under the personal conduct policy. Brian McCarthy, the league's spokesman, said they're not even looking into it. This is a guy who went fourteen and three last year. Lost the Super Bowl to Seattle. Won Coach of the Year twice. And the league's response is basically "we're good." Russini's response was a resignation letter. That gap between outcomes is pretty damn stark. And Vrabel's press conference didn't exactly help close it. He talked about himself. His growth. His commitment to the team. Never once addressed the disparity. That part bothers me.
Alright, let's move around the league because there's a LOT happening before Thursday's draft.
A.J. Brown to the Patriots is looking more and more like a done deal. Adam Schefter reported that Philly remains open to trading Brown, New England remains highly interested, and conversations are expected to pick up on or before June 1. Why June 1? Because the Eagles' dead cap hit drops from roughly forty-three million to about sixteen million after that date. Philly's asking for future capital — 2027 and 2028 picks. And Brown didn't show up to voluntary workouts on Monday, which tells you everything about where his head is at. When Vrabel was asked about it, he didn't deny anything. Just said "I think we are going to continue to try to strengthen our team." That's coach-speak for "yeah, we're working on it."
In Pittsburgh, Aaron Rodgers STILL hasn't told the Steelers what he's doing. No decision expected before the draft. Art Rooney said on WDVE that Rodgers has "kind of told us his time frame" and they'll have an answer soon. Kind of? Bro, it's draft week. Will Howard, their sixth-round pick from last year, is taking the lead reps at minicamp. If Rodgers doesn't call by Thursday night, Pittsburgh has to seriously think about whether they're drafting a quarterback at twenty-one. This is classic Rodgers. The whole world waits while he figures out his feelings.
Over in Cleveland — and honestly, what ISN'T happening in Cleveland right now — Myles Garrett is skipping voluntary minicamp. Hasn't spoken to new head coach Todd Monken in person since January. They've exchanged texts. Texts! The guy just set the NFL single-season sack record with twenty-three and won his second Defensive Player of the Year, and the best his new coach can get is a text thread. Garrett's also forfeiting a million-dollar workout bonus by not showing up. Denzel Ward and Jerry Jeudy were no-shows too. GM Andrew Berry says "Myles is a career Brown." I mean, sure. But career Browns don't usually ghost their new head coach for three months.
And the quarterback situation in Cleveland is just as messy. Shedeur Sanders and Deshaun Watson are splitting first-team reps. Sanders took the first snap in eleven-on-eleven drills, but Watson also worked with the ones. Monken said Sanders would get a few more reps, but this is clearly a competition. Sanders started the last seven games last season — went three and four, threw for fourteen hundred yards, seven touchdowns, ten picks. Not exactly a coronation. Dillon Gabriel's working with the backups. That building is chaos from top to bottom.
Quick hits — Trent Williams and the Niners agreed to a two-year, fifty-million-dollar extension with thirty-seven million guaranteed. That ends his holdout drama. And the Cowboys made Brandon Aubrey the highest-paid kicker in NFL history with a four-year, twenty-eight-million-dollar deal. Good for kickers, man. They're finally getting paid.
Here's my Hangover Take for today. The Cleveland Browns are the most dysfunctional organization in football right now, and it's not close. Your franchise-altering pass rusher won't talk to your coach. Your quarterback room is a three-way competition between a guy who can't stay healthy, a rookie who threw ten picks in seven starts, and a third-stringer. Your best players aren't showing up to workouts. And the draft is in two days. This isn't a rebuild. This isn't a transition year. This is organizational quicksand. Andrew Berry can say "Myles is a career Brown" all he wants, but if Garrett won't even pick up the phone for his head coach, that marriage is already over. They just haven't filed the papers yet. Cleveland is the NFL's most talented mess, and I don't see how they fix it before September.
That's your hangover. Go hydrate. I'll see you tomorrow.