On Saturday, Patriots coach Mike Vrabel wasn’t with the team for the third day of the draft. On Monday, Vrabel is back with the team.
Via Phil Perry of NBC Sports Boston, Vrabel has returned to work with the Patriots.
It ends the chapter but doesn’t close the book on the controversy that erupted 20 days ago. Based on things Vrabel said during a pair of short media appearances last week, it’s possible that he’ll be absent again for counseling in the coming days and weeks.
And the decision not to be present for rounds four through seven of the selection process continues to be unusual, to say the least. It’s a fairly important day on the offseason calendar. Also, it was a Saturday.
Why not Monday? As in this Monday, after the dust settled on the final day of the draft and the mad scramble for undrafted free agents. As Patriots V.P. of player personnel Eliot Wolf said last week, Vrabel is a “tremendous recruiter.” The Patriots didn’t have those skills available to them when trying to extract commitments from players who weren’t going to be drafted.
Overall, the story itself has died down. The Patriots and Vrabel have stopped creating new developments that demand coverage. Neither the New York Post nor TMZ have published new reports or photos in recent days.
Even if the parties involved provide no further short-term oxygen, there’s always a chance something else will happen. And even if nothing else happens, it’s a situation that won’t quickly be forgotten — and that will hover over the Patriots for the balance of the offseason.
