Ex-NFL star Shawne Merriman reacts as Patriots' Mike Vrabel caught in scandal

Former NFL linebacker Shawne Merriman reacts to the Mike Vrabel scandal in an interview with Fox News Digital.

New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has been raked over the coals due to the most recent photos that were released of him and NFL reporter Dianna Russini.

Vrabel said he will be stepping away from the team to seek counseling. However, he’s put the Patriots into a PR disaster that began when he fervently denied that the first photo dump of him and Russini at an Arizona resort showed anything nefarious. He brushed it off as "a completely innocent interaction."

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New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel stands on the field before the 2026 AFC Championship Game at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., on Jan. 25, 2026. (Ron Chenoy/Imagn Images)

Former San Diego Chargers linebacker Shawne Merriman weighed in with his reaction in an interview with Fox News Digital on Thursday. He said that he didn’t think the dark cloud around Vrabel would affect the team football-wise, but his job depended on what message the organization wants to send.

"This is my thing when it comes to that," Merriman said. "He didn’t break any laws first and foremost, right? This is something morally maybe wrong. Something he’ll have to deal with when it comes to that. I do not believe, in my opinion, I do not believe this will be a football distraction. This will have to be, internally, that, we don’t want to deal with it because what it sends a message for, but it’s not going to affect the players in the locker room and how he’s coaching, how they’re coached, how they listen to and follow him, and how Vrabel leads.

"Football wise, I don’t think it does