Recently, NFL legend Cris Carter talked about the Mike Vrabel-Dianna Russini situation on the “Fully Loaded Podcast”. He made it crystal clear that he doesn’t believe Vrabel was truly absent from Day 3 of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Carter also didn’t hold back on the uneven toll this saga has taken on both parties involved.
Cris Carter Addresses the Mike Vrabel Situation
Carter addressed Vrabel’s reported step away from the draft directly, calling the idea that a head coach went fully dark on one of the most important weekends in football simply unbelievable.
“You think he wasn’t involved in the draft on Saturday? Stop people, man. You’re insulting me,” Carter said bluntly. He dismissed the notion that Vrabel had zero involvement in Saturday’s proceedings. And it turns out, Carter may not have been far off.
Peter Schrager initially reported on ESPN that Vrabel had been in constant contact with the franchise via phone and text throughout Day 3, though he later walked that back, saying the Patriots ultimately chose not to interrupt Vrabel and his family.
Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf confirmed that after Day 2 wrapped, the team decided that “the time away really needs to be time away.” Contact with Vrabel on Saturday was limited to brief well-wishes. But Carter did not buy it.
He turned his attention to the broader fallout, noting the striking imbalance in the consequences faced by Vrabel and reporter Dianna Russini.
“Vrabel still got his job,” Carter said. He also pointed out that Russini lost hers. She also resigned from The Athletic and deactivated her X account.
Meanwhile, the NFL confirmed Vrabel would face no investigation for possible violations of the personal conduct policy. Carter also raised serious credibility concerns about the reporting side of this story.
He noted that, based on his own intel on the investigation, The Athletic asked for group photos, hiking pictures, or any other images that could corroborate the story that Vrabel and Russini were simply part of a larger friend group. But no such pictures could be produced.
“Now you’re in a compromising situation because you’re dropping nuggets with this alleged affair,” Carter said, because of the source relationship dynamic at play.
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He went further, arguing that the volume of stories Russini broke wasn’t the issue in itself, but that the imbalance in sourcing and the potential for a personal relationship with a source created a credibility problem in journalism that couldn’t be ignored.
“Sleeping with one of your sources,” Carter said plainly, calling it “unfair.” He acknowledged the scrutiny of Russini had gone far beyond what was fair, especially given that her career was visibly altered while Vrabel kept his position and maintained public support from his employer.
Vrabel, for his part, had told reporters Thursday that counseling was necessary for his family.
He also previously said, “My previous actions don’t meet the standard I hold myself to,” which marked a notable shift from the earlier joint explanation that the photos simply captured coincidental encounters during separate friend group trips.
That initial account began to unravel as more images surfaced in different locations.
The Athletic’s investigation pressed on. Russini cited not wanting to give the story “further oxygen” as her reason for stepping away. But the investigation into her conduct at The Athletic is still ongoing.
