On Thursday afternoon, news broke concerning the status of second-year wide receiver Ja'Lynn Polk as reports indicated the wideout would undergo season-ending surgery to repair a shoulder injury.
As of this writing, the New England Patriots have not made any official comment regarding Polk but that didn't stop first-year head coach Mike Vrabel from sounding off on the news during his postgame press conference following New England's 42-10 loss to the New York Giants.
Ths initial report, which came from NFL insider Jordan Schultz, struck a nerve with the former Patriots linebacker and his old-school approach to the game of football came out when, in not so many words, addressed the report the only way he knows how. Head on.
Vrabel not real pleased with the report that Ja'Lynn Polk is going to have season-ending surgery and won't comment except to say, "I'd like to find out where some of these come from. You know, some of these rats around here. So, we'll figure that out."
— Mike Giardi (@MikeGiardi) August 22, 2025
Mike Vrabel Sounds Off on Ja'Lynn Polk Injury News After Preseason Finale
As you can see from the quote above, courtesy of Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal, Vrabel didn't mince words when discussing his displeasure with the "rats" who relayed the news to the reporter.
Given Vrabel's comments, he seemed to be much less pleased with the news being released at the time, rather than the report being inaccurate. This is far from the first time that Vrabel has taken issue with sourced reporting concerning himself or his team, though. The same thing happened during his time with the Tennessee Titans following a leak in which Vrabel ripped NFL referees in a reply-all email.
This is just the type of coach that Vrabel is. As a former player who learned from one of the best to ever do it in Bill Belichick, having a no-nonsense approach to media reports, especially ones concerning serious injuries to players on his roster, is exactly what the Patriots signed up for.
Again, the franchise has not made any official announcement regarding Polk and his status moving forward at this time. Once that happens, fans will have a better sense of just how serious an injury this was to the former second-round pick.