The NFL announced Thursday, May 14, its laissez-faire approach to teams’ videos in advance of the 2026 schedule to be released the same day.
Therefore, the league won’t audit team videos that possibly ridicule the scandal surrounding New England Patriots coach Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini, The Athletic’s former top NFL insider, per Front Office Sports.
“This is the day when teams are licensed to poke fun at each other,” a source said to Front Office Sports. “The Vrabel story has become such a public matter that teams can take the shot. You may get a call from the Patriots. But the league is not going to get involved.”
Vrabel and Russini have been at the center of one of the league’s biggest stories this offseason. Photos of them together at a resort in Sedona surfaced in the New York Post’s Page Six gossip section in April. Both parties attended the league’s owners’ meeting at Arizona’s Biltmore Hotel in March, before they allegedly had their rendezvous about two hours away from that location.
Vrabel and Russini, who are married, but not to each other, both publicly denied any wrongdoing and Vrabel initially downplayed the photos as “laughable.” But after an investigation was planned by The Athletic, Russini resigned on April 14. Then additional photos revealed by TMZ showed Vrabel and Russini privately together dating back to 2020.
Vrabel eventually apologized to his team and family during a Patriots press conference on April 24 about his “actions” related to the photos and sought counseling.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: NFL open to Vrabel-Russini jokes in team videos for 2026 schedule
