Dolphins

Dolphins WR Tyreek Hill was not voted a captain for the first time in four seasons in Miami. Although Hill had previously said he was expecting not to be named a captain by his teammates after taking himself out of last year’s season finale, it’s still notable given the comments this offseason from teammates about Hill needing to rebuild trust.

Dolphins HC Mike McDaniel added his read of the vote is that it was “more about the guys we picked and less about the guys we didn’t.” The team selected QB Tua Tagovailoa, FB Alec Ingold, and C Aaron Brewer as captains for the 2025 season. 

“I’m really excited about the whole voting process in general this year,” McDaniel said via ESPN’s Marcel Louis-Jacques. “This team was much more unified, and the focus on those six guys was very clear — those were resounding vote-getters. We were focused on giving the keys to captaincy to guys that had earned it each and every day. That’s what speaks to me the most is a football team that knows who it wants to be led by.”

• McDaniel said OLB coach Ryan Crow will be on administrative leave indefinitely after a domestic battery arrest on Friday, per Cameron Wolfe. 
• Wolfe adds that defensive assistant Sean Ryan will take over that room in the meantime. 

Patriots

Patriots TE Hunter Henry said HC Mike Vrabel has a unique coaching style that is welcomed by the locker room.

“He’s right there with us. I think that player comes out in him,” Henry said, via ESPN. “You have to love a coach that has competitive juices like us.”

The NFL has become a transactional business, and Vrabel hopes to add a personal touch to it in an attempt to build camaraderie within the locker room.

“We need [players] to put the team first and we’re going to ask everybody to make tough decisions,” Vrabel said of his focus on connectivity. “Hopefully, the better you know somebody and understand who they’re playing for, and trying to support, the things going on outside of [football], there’s a lot of similarities, and I think the better it is to work with them.”  

Patriots rookie RB TreyVeon Henderson said the team is fully bought into the culture.

“This team, I feel like it’s so close. Coach Vrabel and the Patriots organization have done a great job bringing us together, helping learn each other’s stories and things like that,” Henderson said. “Something that I go by when I play this game is I play for God and for the love of my brothers. Just to hear these guys’ stories, it just makes you want to go the extra mile.”

Patriots

Patriots HC Mike Vrabel was asked about the decision to release S Jabrill Peppers, a move that came as a major surprise for several reasons. Peppers still had significant guaranteed money left on his contract this year and looked like he was well on track to be a starter. 

“I think that these things are tough decisions. I think we’re just trying to get it right,” Vrabel said via USA Today’s Sophie Weller. “And a lot of respect for Jabrill as a person and as a player, and what we felt like was in the best interest of the team at this point was allowing him to have another opportunity elsewhere. There’s a lot of things that go into these decisions. They’re never easy. We’re just trying to get it right collectively.”

Vrabel did dispute the idea that Peppers was cut for being a poor scheme fit (double negative notwithstanding) even though that’s been cited as the reason for other notable cuts the team has made this year. 

“No, I don’t think that was certainly not the issue. There’s a lot of reasons,” Vrabel explained. “I wouldn’t say that’s — we’re going to try to do what works best for the team. We got a lot of different schemes that we can run in all three phases, special teams, offense and defense. There’s a lot that goes into it. And again, we’re just trying to build toward Sunday here, and that’s our focus. And again, that’s the decision that we had to make. Again, wish the best for Jabrill.”

• Patriots HC Mike Vrabel was asked if CB Christian Gonzalez had an injury setback: “It just hasn’t gone – he’s working hard… Everybody heals differently.” (Mark Daniels)

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