We have finally made it to Week 1 of the NFL regular season. The season kicks off on Wednesday Night with a Super Bowl rematch between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks.
Much of the offseason talk has focused on the Patriots and their head coach, Mike Vrabel. Vrabel got himself into some trouble after being seen in intimate pictures with former NFL reporter Dianna Russini.
While Vrabel is set to coach the season opener on Wednesday, Russini is currently unemployed but is reportedly looking for a comeback. Yet there is talk that she may plan to return to the scene right before the regular season.
Dianna Russini May Be Looking To Get Back in the Game
It was hard to imagine Russini going an entire season without playing any role in NFL coverage, and NFL insider Mike Florio recently speculated on her comeback.
“The one wild card that continues to hide somewhere in the deck relates to Russini. She seems to be planning a comeback, potentially as soon as this week,” Florio wrote. “Possibly as soon as tomorrow. One day before the Patriots play in Seattle.”
There doesn’t seem to be a consensus on where Russini may end up. But some think she could start her own podcast or potentially sign on with Barstool Sports. Russini has stayed silent on the substance of her alleged relationship with Vrabel since it became public, though she issued a brief defense of her reporting integrity when The Athletic released its internal review on Sept. 3.
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Florio said, “If she deviates from her prior position that the whole thing is a nothing burger, what will she say? And what, if any, questions will it spark for Vrabel, who may find himself once again talking about anything else in response before buttoning it with a comment about offensive line play?”
Russini coming back into the public eye could cause issues for both parties, and Vrabel doesn’t want to deal with that as his team is about to start the season. Still, people will want to hear the former NFL reporter’s side of the story.
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For now, all eyes will remain on Vrabel and the Patriots, who are out to show that last season was no fluke. They face a much tougher schedule this season and will have to earn their way back into the playoffs.
Florio discussed how the Patriots’ early-season schedule could cause issues after his noisy offseason: “The 2026 schedule isn’t as conducive to winning as last year’s was. It starts like this: at Seahawks, vs. Steelers (whose quarterback had some things to say last month about ESPN’s handling of the Russini-Vrabel story), at Jaguars, at Bills. A 1-3 start isn’t out of the question. And if that’s how it unfolds, the noise could indeed get extremely loud.”
The Patriots are underdogs for the season opener in Seattle, and after getting outplayed in the Super Bowl, it will be interesting to see if they can play significantly better this time around.
