A bloodied Mike Vrabel earns respect from Patriots players after camp fight

FOXBOROUGH – By the time Mike Vrabel emerged from a pile of padded football players wearing helmets, the Patriots coach was bloody.

When Wednesday’s joint practice against the Washington Commanders concluded, his players had developed a newfound level of respect for their new head coach. Day 12 of training camp was one of the most eventful practices of the summer, highlighted by Vrabel, who jumped into the middle of a fight between his players.

After it was broken up, Vrabel had a streak of blood dripping down his face.

“I said, ‘Coach, what’s wrong with you?’” DeMario Douglas said. “He said, ‘Hey, you should’ve seen the other guy.’ I laughed.”

“I saw it, yeah. Somebody said it was like the Trump gun shot wound. I was laughing at that,” Drake Maye added. “You saw it when he’s breaking down the huddle. Not even sure what happened, when it happened. He said, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll see it on film.’”

Fights in a joint practice session are common. That’s one reason people thought that the Patriots and Commanders only scheduled one practice this week as opposed to two sessions leading up to Friday’s preseason game.

One day was enough for multiple dustups to break out on the Gillette Stadium practice field.

The first occurred during an 11-on-11 drill where Kayshon Boutte and Commanders cornerback MarShon Lattimore had to be separated. That small skirmish paled in comparison to what transpired next.

While Maye’s offensive unit was on the field, the quarterback threw a pass to Stefon Diggs in the end zone. A referee on hand threw a flag on the cornerback covering Diggs, but that’s when the field erupted at the line of scrimmage.

On the play, Patriots rookie running back TreVeyon Henderson picked up a blitz and blocked a Commanders defensive player. At this point, both players fell to the ground and began to fight. That’s when Vrabel physically jumped in, attempting to break it up.

Unfortunately for the Patriots coach, rookie tackle Will Campbell saw what happened and dove in to help his teammate. Other players soon joined in. That’s how Vrabel ended up at the bottom of the pile.

“Pass (protection) – it’s physical. It’s a physical game. A man’s game. Things happen out there,” Maye said. “It’s a time where 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. I’m sure coach will preach you can’t have that, but at the same time, it’s in the back of our minds that’s how we want to play – (with) the intensity and when the whistle is going, play hard, when the whistle stops, get up and go away.”

After Vrabel got up, he broke down the Patriots’ huddle, and players could see the blood on his face.

“I mean, he’s right there with us, man. I think that player comes out in him a little, too,” Hunter Henry said. “But you’ve got to love a coach that loves to compete. Has his competitive juices just like us.”

“Man, that shows a lot about our coach,” Douglas added. “He’ll do anything for us. That’s love right there.”

When the session ended, Patriots players walked away happy with their performance. The team played well during Wednesday’s practice against the Commanders. They were also happy to have their coach on their side.

“He keeps the energy high every day. That’s what I love about him, man,” Christian Barmore said. “He’s one of us. He’s got our back. We’ve got his back. That’s a coach we love. I love his energy. He’s a real great coach.”

“That’s what we’re trying to build. It starts with the head coach – the intensity, bringing it every day. Taking no crap when we’re out there on the field,” Maye added. “But also it comes at a time with our guys offensively getting over there and getting in some tussles and having penalties with extras after the whistle. It can get us in trouble, but as a mentality, I like it. I think that’s what you want. I almost got in there, but I think another day. We’ll see.”