New England Patriots - NESN.com
Mandatory minicamp has officially ended at Gillette Stadium, with the players now getting a few weeks off before training camp begins.
However, just because they won’t be at the facility doesn’t mean the players can slack off. And New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel made sure to get that point across on Wednesday before the players left.
“It’s probably the five most important weeks of the offseason as far as I’m concerned, just in my history as a player and a coach,” Vrabel said on Tuesday. “It’s critical that they come back in shape, that they’re ready to go for training camp, that we’re prepared as coaches with the schedule, the installation and what we’re doing. The players have to hold up their end of the bargain to prepare for training camp.”
Things differ from player to player, specifically when it’s a veteran versus a rookie. But, Vrabel detailed that every single player will have a plan.
“So, we always tell them that everybody will have a plan,” he explained. “This is more for when we get to training camp and you’ll say, ‘Well, why is so-and-so doing this or that?’ Everybody’s going to have a plan. It’ll be different with as many players as we have. My job is to make sure that everybody’s working regardless of what plan that they’re on.
“There will be players that just do individual. There will be players that just do team. There will be players that are off on the side conditioning, or whatever that may be. That’s going to change daily throughout training camp.”
The players will return at the end of July, with the first open practice set for July 23.
