Patriots say they support Mike Vrabel's decision to miss final day of NFL draft to seek counseling

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FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The New England Patriots said Thursday that they're being respectful of Mike Vrabel's personal life and support him seeking counseling and not being with the team for Day 3 of the NFL draft following the publication of photos of the coach and longtime NFL reporter Dianna Russini at an Arizona resort.

“The New England Patriots fully support Mike Vrabel’s decision to prioritize his family first, as well as his own well-being," the team said in a statement released before the first round of the draft. "Mike has been open with us about his commitment to being the best version of himself for his family, this team and our fans, and we respect the steps he is taking to follow through on that commitment.

“We are confident in the leadership and communication Mike has established with our personnel staff throughout this pre-draft process. While he will not be present at the facility on Saturday, we know the draft evaluations are complete and Eliot Wolf and his personnel staff are prepared to execute our draft as planned this weekend.”

Vrabel said at a news conference earlier this week that he’s had “difficult conversations with people I care about,” including his family, his coaching staff, team officials and players, following the publication of the photos by the New York Post.

The photos of Vrabel and Russini were taken in Sedona before the annual NFL meetings that began in Phoenix on March 29, according to the Post. The NFL has said it is not investigating Vrabel’s behavior. Vrabel and Russini are both married. Russini resigned from The Athletic last week.

Vrabel declared his intension to sit out the final day of the draft in a late-night statement Wednesday.

The Patriots entered the draft holding 11 picks. That includes the Super Bowl runner-up’s one scheduled pick (No. 31) in Thursday’s first round. They have one pick each in rounds 2 and 3 on Friday.

But the bulk of their selections will be on Saturday when Vrabel won't be in the draft room. That’s when they are scheduled to select twice in the fourth round, once in the fifth, four times in the sixth and once in the seventh round.

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