The New England Patriots continued their voluntary OTAs on Wednesday at Gillette Stadium. However, it was something off the field that dominated conversation during head coach Mike Vrabel's time with the media.
New England acquired veteran wide receiver Stefon Diggs this offseason to provide Drake Maye with a dangerous weapon on the outside. While everything Diggs has done on the field to this point has impressed his teammates, his recent actions away from the team were what Vrabel was tasked with discussing on Wednesday.
Over the holiday weekend, video of Diggs on a yacht in South Beach hit social media and spread like wildfire. Diggs, who has been rumored to be in a relationship with musical artist Cardi B, appears to be handling an unknown substance in the video in question, and that has raised some eyebrows in New England.
Patriots' Mike Vrabel Addresses Controversial Video of Stefon Diggs
“It’s something that we’re aware of and obviously we want to make great decisions on and off the field,” Vrabel said of the video on Wednesday, via Nick O'Malley of MassLive.com. "Any conversations that I’ve had with Stefon will remain between him and I in the club.”
Keeping things in-house rather than addressing things through the media is the professional thing for Vrabel to do at this time. Adding to further speculation does the franchise, himself, and Diggs no good whatsoever.
As a former player and veteran head coach, Vrabel knows the right way and the wrong way to address situations such as the one Diggs finds himself in now. He will not put the organization in an unfavorable position. At the same time, Vrabel will do everything that he can to make this an experience that Diggs can learn from.
It is worth reiterating Vrabel's point to the media. Great decision-making on and off the field is extremely important for any NFL player, especially one with the cachet of Diggs.