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What Patriots players said about the joint practice scuffle with the Commanders
"It shows a lot about our coach. He'll do anything for us. That's love right there."
FOXBOROUGH — Things got a little chippy during the joint practice at Gillette Stadium between the Patriots and Commanders on Wednesday.
It led to an unusual sight. Coach Mike Vrabel was bleeding from a cut on his cheek after he wound up at the bottom of a pile of players while trying to break up a scuffle.
A hard hit during a pass blocking attempt from rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson led to the dustup.
Patriots players had plenty to say about the incident. Here’s a round up of what was said Wednesday afternoon.
Quarterback Drake Maye
What did Vrabel’s willingness to jump in say about him?
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“Like I said, that’s what we’re trying to build, I think, and it starts with the coach, starts with the head coach. The intensity, bringing it every day, taking no crap when we’re out there on the field. But also, it comes to a time where, with our guys offensively, and getting over there and getting some tussles, and kind of having some penalties, and extra after the whistle can get us in trouble. But for mentality, I like it. I think that’s what you want. I mean, I almost got in there, but I think maybe another day, maybe. So, we’ll see.”
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What started it? Looked like it was a passing play with TreVeyon Henderson blocking.
“Yeah, I think pass pro — I think it’s physical. It’s a physical game, it’s a man’s game, and things happen out there. I’m not sure if anything on this field happened, but I think there’s a time where, obviously you don’t want to come out here and fight and get in trouble, but at the same time, you don’t want to back down from nobody. So, I’m sure coach will get the mind, pretty sure you can’t have that, but at the same time, kind of in the back of our minds, that’s kind of how we want to play. The intensity, and kind of when the whistle’s going, play hard, and when the whistle stops, get off and get away.”
Did you see the blood on Vrabel’s cheek?
“Yeah, I saw it, yeah. Somebody said it was like the [President Donald] Trump gunshot wound, so I was laughing at that. But no, I think, too, you saw he was breaking down the huddle, and I’m not even sure what happened, when it happened, but he said, ‘Ah, don’t worry about it, we’ll see it on film.’ So, we’ll see something.”
Receiver DeMario Douglas
What’s it like having Vrabel jump into the scrum?
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“It shows a lot about our coach. He’ll do anything for us. That’s love right there.”
Was he showing off the cut?
“Yeah, and I said ‘coach, what’s wrong with you?’ He said ‘hey, you should have seen the other guy’, so I laughed at that for sure.”
What did you see?
“I was kind of far. I was in the end zone, so as I turned around everyone was kind of like with each other. I really didn’t see too much. I just saw the scar on his face, so I didn’t know what happened for real.”
Was it surprising to see Vrabel get in the mix?
“I didn’t know though. I didn’t know until I saw the scratch.”
Defensive tackle Christian Barmore
What was it like having Vrabel jump in there?
“His energy is high every day. That’s what I love about him, man. He’s with us. He’s got our back, we have his back. That’s a coach we love. I love his energy. Just a real great coach.”
Was he joking around about the cut?
“I didn’t see because we were on the other side of the field. I heard what happened. He’s good though. Glad he’s good.”
How’d you find out?
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“I just found out when we were talking on the radio.”
Tight-end Hunter Henry
What’s it like having Vrabel jump in the mix?
“He’s right there with us. I think that player comes out in him a little bit too. You have to love a coach that loves to compete and has those competitive juices just like us.”
Running back Antonio Gibson
What does it mean to have a coach that isn’t afraid to get in there and scrap?
“He’s going to fight for the team. We fight for ours and that’s what happened. But, you know, he was just trying to stop everything from getting escalated. We were out here competing and that’s what it is.”
Did you see what happened leading up to that?
“Nah. Not at all.”
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