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Al Arabiya
31 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
Mike Vrabel 'not Messing Around' as he Prepares for 1st Training Camp as Patriots Coach
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Mike Vrabel was hired as New England Patriots coach seven months ago to recalibrate a team that hasn't won a playoff game since its most recent Super Bowl win in the 2018 season and has slumped to 4-13 finishes the past two seasons. Everything Vrabel has done – from hiring his coaching staff to building out the roster through free agency and the draft – has been about laying a foundation for his first season. As important as all those steps and initial spring workouts have been in the process, the work begins in earnest Wednesday with the start of training camp. He said his message to his new team will be simple. 'It's time to build a team,' Vrabel said. 'We have to start coming together as a football team.' Vrabel arrived at Foxborough having shared history with each of his two predecessors – winning two Super Bowls as a player under Bill Belichick and then playing his final season in New England alongside Belichick successor Jerod Mayo. When he was hired in January, Vrabel said his initial goal would be to put together a team capable of taking advantage of opponents when they play bad football. That's still an ongoing project but one that he believes they've made headway on. 'We're closer than where we were in March or April when we got here. I think we are,' Vrabel said. 'I think the players are starting to understand. We talk about the good, the bad, and the (stuff) that gets you beat, and I think that they can tell the difference between those three now.' Special teamer Brenden Schooler, who earned his first All-Pro selection last season, said the no-nonsense vibe Vrabel has introduced is noticeable around the team facility. 'You're not scared, but you know he's not messing around,' Schooler said. One thing that has helped Vrabel make an early impression is that he won't be coaching any players that have links to the Patriots' most recent run of success. Following the release of long snapper Joe Cardona in April, there are no remaining players on New England's roster that were on the 2018 Super Bowl team. As he begins the process of whittling down the 91 players that will begin camp, Vrabel said he wants to see them not just try to make the roster but carve out a role with the team. 'There's a lot of different levels to what those roles are, and in my 14-year career I've had plenty of them: from special teams, multiple-position backup, to starter, a starter that was expected to be productive, to a veteran leader,' Vrabel said. 'So there's multiple levels of what that role will be, and it's up to them to earn it.' No limits for Diggs. Receiver Stefon Diggs passed his physical and will be practicing without limitations nine months after undergoing season-ending knee surgery. 'It's just a testament to how hard he worked,' Vrabel said. 'Is he going to take every single rep of every single period? No, and I don't think any player will. But I think we're off to a good start and encouraged by what we saw here in the last couple of days.' A four-time Pro Bowl selection, Diggs had six straight 1000-yard receiving seasons for the Vikings and Bills before he was traded from Buffalo to Houston last spring. He had 47 catches for 496 yards and three touchdowns in eight games for the Texans before he tore the ACL in his right knee in October.
Al Arabiya
31 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
Kyren Williams won't hold out as Rams training camp begins amid his contract negotiations
LOS ANGELES (AP) – Kyren Williams is neither holding out nor holding in while he negotiates a new contract during training camp with the Los Angeles Rams. The former Pro Bowl running back reported to camp as scheduled Tuesday at Loyola Marymount University, and he'll participate in practice this week instead of sitting out while his agent works on his deal. Williams also said he'll stay in uniform if the negotiations, which have produced progress in recent sessions, still stretch into his fourth regular season. 'For me, there was no decision,' Williams said. 'I play football. That's what I love. … Being here right now is a no-brainer because I've got people I've got to take care of. Putting my feet on the grass is the only way I know how to do that.' The Rams will meet again with agent Drew Rosenhaus on Wednesday as they continue to work toward a long-term deal with Williams, the Notre Dame product and boyhood Rams fan from St. Louis. Williams has rushed for 2,582 yards and 26 touchdowns, while adding 464 yards receiving and five more TDs over three seasons as a versatile producer in Sean McVay's offense. 'There's definitely been progress from when we started at OTAs to where we're at now,' Williams said. 'I don't know when it's going to get done. For now, it's just time for me to be present where my feet are at. … I want to play for the Rams. That's who I want to stay with, and I know it will work out.' Williams has been the Rams' starting running back for the past two years, and he made the Pro Bowl in 2023 while finishing third in the league with 1,144 yards rushing despite playing in only 12 games. He had career highs of 1,299 yards and 14 rushing touchdowns last season. The Rams have repeatedly said they want to keep Williams even though they've used fairly high picks on running backs in each of the past two drafts, adding Blake Corum in the third round in 2023 and trading up to pick Jarquez Hunter in the fourth round last April. 'We have gotten closer,' McVay said of the Rams' negotiations with Williams. 'Haven't got the deal across the finish line, obviously. And (Williams) has done everything that he can control that makes you want to say, 'Let's try in good faith to figure this out for this guy because he's representing all the things that are right about the Rams and the way he plays, his spirit, his mindset, what he is as a teammate, how he responds to adversity, the physical and mental toughness—it means a lot, and I love this guy and love what he stands for and what he's about.'' Williams made some changes in the offseason to prepare for his contract year. He hired a chef whose meals have him feeling alive and vibrant. … I wake up every single morning, and I'm just full of energy. Williams is also working on his grip strength after his regular weight workouts. He fumbled five times during the regular season – tied for the second-most by a running back – and again in the postseason, putting a damper on his numbers. Williams said he had no interest in holding out because of his teammates and their potential. The Rams hope to be Super Bowl contenders after winning the NFC West and stretching eventual champion Philadelphia to the limit in their second playoff game. 'Seeing the squad that we have, it's like, 'Yo, from top to bottom, from special teams to offense to defense, we are stacked,'' Williams said. 'We've got people who know what it is to be here as a Ram and play here as a Ram. We've got people who are like-minded people that go to work. People who are playing for each other and not just an individual.'
Al Arabiya
31 minutes ago
- Al Arabiya
Saints safety Tyrann 'Honey Badger' Mathieu retires after 12 nfl seasons
New Orleans safety Tyrann Mathieu–a three-time All-Pro who was known as the Honey Badger for the relentless play in college that made him a Heisman Trophy finalist–said on the day the Saints opened training camp Tuesday that he is retiring from the NFL after 12 seasons. 'As I hang up my cleats, I'm filled with gratitude as I close this chapter of my life and officially retire from the game that's shaped me in every way,' Mathieu wrote in an Instagram post that was shared by the team. 'This isn't goodbye–it's just the next chapter.' Mathieu, 33, was raised by his grandparents in New Orleans, then became a star football player and track athlete for St. Augustine High School. He played at LSU, where his toughness–along with a blond patch in his hair–earned comparisons to the honey badger, a carnivorous mammal known to fight off much larger predators like lions and hyena. Mathieu was the Most Outstanding Defensive Player in the Cotton Bowl as a freshman and the MVP of the SEC championship game as a sophomore, when he finished fifth in the Heisman voting and claimed the Chuck Bednarik Award as the top defensive player in college football. Mathieu was kicked off the LSU team before the 2012 season for failing repeated drug tests and entered a drug rehab program a week later. After sitting out a season, the Arizona Cardinals picked him in the third round of the 2013 draft. In five years with the Cardinals, one with the Texans, three with the Chiefs, and three with the Saints, Mathieu intercepted 36 passes, running four back for touchdowns, and forced seven fumbles. He was a member of Kansas City's 2019 championship team. 'From my first snap in college to my final play in the NFL, this journey has been nothing short of a blessing,' he wrote. 'Football gave me purpose, discipline, and memories that will stay with me forever. But more than anything, it gave me a community. To every coach who believed in me, every teammate who battled beside me, and every fan who showed up, cheered, and rode with me through the highs and lows, thank you. You gave me strength when I needed it most, and your love carried me farther than I ever imagined. I hope I made you proud out there.'
