Sometimes, it’s not good to be in the headlines. Just ask Dianna Russini, who became known for her scoops as an NFL reporter but is now under the microscope due to her alleged affair with New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel. As for Vrabel, he’d prefer if his name stayed out of headlines to keep the focus on the Patriots’ preparations for the 2026 NFL season.
However, The New York Times just dropped a bombshell report on the Russini-Vrabel scandal, so this saga will continue to dominate the news cycle. However, one NFL insider believes that this article is just the “appetizer.”
Mike Florio Believes Bombshell Report on Dianna Russini-Mike Vrabel Saga Is Just the ‘Appetizer’
For those following the Vrabel-Russini scandal closely, there have been a ton of twists and turns every week, if not every day. Now, there are more.
While The New York Times’ report turned heads, NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, argued that this piece was simply the “appetizer” of a bigger meal to come.
“My first reaction: I think that’s the appetizer to what The Athletic is going to do. It was two weeks ago that The Athletic reported that they had told its employees a conclusion of the internal investigation of Dianna Russini’s reporting is a few weeks away. That was two weeks ago. So, I think they are getting ready to land the plane,” Florio said.
Florio predicted when The Athletic will finally reveal the findings from its internal investigation into Russini.
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“Oh, and look at the calendar. When is the perfect day to announce this? The ultimate opportunity to dump bad news into a spot where no one is going to notice it: Friday, July 3, at 4:00. Fourth of July weekend will have already started! They may do it Thursday, July 2, just so it’s not that obvious, [but] it will have the same result since a lot of people are going to be off on Friday, the 3rd,” Florio said.
“But that window, July 2 and July 3, that’s what I’m looking at for The Athletic to announce its final outcome of the Dianna Russini investigation… I would suspect that a lot of what is in that New York Times article is going to show up in what The Athletic does because The Times owns and operates The Athletic. You can’t separate the two.”
Florio has a lot of experience not just covering all aspects within the NFL world but also by having back channels that involve the legal world.
In other words, if Florio’s hunch is that we’ll get more breadcrumbs around the July 4 weekend, then there’s a good chance he’s right.
