The New England Patriots’ loss in Super Bowl LX is only two weeks away, but the next big date is already coming up on the NFL calendar. Between Monday, Feb. 23, and Monday, Mar. 2, the league will travel to Indianapolis for this year’s Scouting Combine.
While it will be the big story of the week, there is a lot more going on in pro football these days. With that said, let’s put a bow on the week that was. Welcome to the latest edition of our Sunday Patriots Notes.
Setting up the Scouting Combine
The Patriots will send their big hitters to Indianapolis this week, including head coach Mike Vrabel and quasi-general manager Eliot Wolf. And while they will be watching the Combine’s main event, the on-field workouts, they are not the main focus of the team’s attention, as Vrabel explained last year.
“The drills haven’t changed in 30 years, so [it’s] the same drills. I just want to talk to these guys and get to know them briefly, see how they act in this setting. That’s important,” Vrabel said in 2025.
The Patriots are set to meet with dozens of prospects over the coming week, both formally and informally. For Vrabel and his team, it’s all about getting as much information as possible about each of them and see how they react to a pressure situation such as this.
“It can kind of go in any different direction,” Vrabel said about Combine interviews. “Really, we want to just see them in their authentic self and be genuine and honest. Let’s see how they respond and pivot in different questions coming from different ways.”
In addition to the interviews, the Patriots also will keep a close eye on the medical evaluations and whether or not any prospects get flagged by the experts at hand. Those could, in turn, lead to follow-up action by the team and impact what the schedule for their 30 visits at Gillette Stadium will look like.
Finally, another big part of the Combine is the community aspect of it. With teams and agents all present, it is thought of as the unofficial start of free agency and the trading period. Preliminary discussions could be taking place behind closed doors, and the groundwork for potential deals be laid over the next few days.
So, while the eyes of fans and media will be mostly on the on-field sessions set to take place later in the week, the Combine is much more than that for the NFL’s 32 organizations.
The Patriots will be mostly focused on draft work this week, but their roster construction process for 2026 goes far beyond only adding talent from the outside. They also have to make some difficult decisions on some players currently under contract — players who might be quite expensive relative to their potential contributions and roles on next year’s team.
There are several such candidates whose futures might not be as secure as one would think. There are wide receiver Stefon Diggs and defensive tackle Christian Barmore, who are both facing legal questions, center Garrett Bradbury, who was solid in 2025 but might end up replaced by sophomore Jared Wilson, running back and kickoff returner Antonio Gibson, who is coming off an ACL tear, and linebackers Anfernee Jennings, Harold Landry and Jahlani Tavai (although the latter two do not appear to be in immediate danger of getting cut due to their contract structures).
What this goes to show more than anything is that roster turnover is the lone constant in the NFL. Players who were thought of as cornerstones just a year ago could now very well be headed out the door, be it due to performance, financial reasons or off-field questions.
The NFL has started announcing its international schedule for the 2026 season, with several teams already locked into games abroad.
The Rams and 49ers will play the league’s first-ever game in Australia, facing off in Melbourne in Week 1; the latter will also host a contest in Mexico City in December. Meanwhile, the Cowboys and Saints are the designated home teams for the first-ever games played in Rio de Janeiro and Paris, respectively, while the Jaguars will once again sacrifice one of their home games to play in London — one of three total teams to do so (while the other two are set to come from the NFC as part of the league’s schedule rotation).
While the full slate of games has yet to be announced, we already know that the Patriots will not play in Mexico City, Rio de Janeiro or Paris: those teams are not on their 2026 schedule. They could return to the UK, but it seems unlikely they will play the Jaguars again after already facing off against them in London in 2024.
The other two remaining international contests in Munich and Madrid, however, look like more realistic possibilities for New England. Not only do the Patriots have big fanbases in both countries, they also hold marketing rights in Germany and probably are eager to make people forget about the 10-6 stinker they played in Frankfurt against the Colts in 2023. Spain, meanwhile, would be a new frontier for the franchise worth exploring.
The Patriots experienced significant turnover at the offensive coordinator position recently. In fact, 2026 will be their first season having the same OC in back-to-back year since 2021. Coincidentally, the position was held by the same person in both of those years: Josh McDaniels.
McDaniels remaining in New England this year brings back some stability on that side of the ball, something that proved to be vital during the team’s second-era dynasty of the 2010s. It also puts him and his team in a relatively rare position: he is now the longest-tenured offensive coordinator in the AFC East — the Bills, Dolphins and Jets all made changes this offseason — and one of only 11 OCs in the entire NFL to stay put since last year.
Mental health in the spotlight
Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Rondale Moore was found dead at his home on Saturday from what is believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound. He was only 25 years old.
Moore’s sudden passing led to an outpour of support, including from Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez.
Gonzalez has been active in promoting the importance of mental health since a close friend of his and former teammate at the University of Colorado, Kyle Miller III, passed away in 2024. He has supported the KyleCares Foundation and the Happiness Project.
“I want to use my platform to talk about mental health,” Gonzalez said in 2024. “Mental health matters. Reach out to somebody. I know it can be tough, but talk about your mental health with whoever you find you can talk to. Express how you feel as much as you can, stay positive, and always love on people because you never know what they’re going through.”
It’s all about the Combine this week, and the schedule will be jam-packed. From a Patriots perspective, two dates stand out so far.
Executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf is scheduled to address reporters on Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 10 a.m. ET. The next day, head coach Mike Vrabel will talk to the media at 1 p.m. ET. Pats Pulpit will be in Indianapolis for both of those availabilities, and more.
If you or somebody you know is thinking about suicide or experiencing emotional distress, please reach out for help. Free and confidential emotional support is available 24/7 under the phone number 988 and through 988lifeline.org.
