The New England Patriots are getting ready for their Week 9 game against the Green Bay Packers. But that game will likely witness a reunion between Tom Brady and his former teammates.
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Brady will actually arrive at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon as a broadcaster for FOX Sports. However, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel didn’t seem too excited about the chance to meet the former Patriots quarterback.
“I think I’m required contractually to catch up with him at some point,” Vrabel told the media during a press conference on November 4, 2026, when a reporter asked him if he’d get a chance to catch up with Brady. “I’m sure it’ll be a Zoom. I’m sure they won’t show up here; I’m sure it will be on Zoom. Yep, there you go. So yep, contractually I’ll be talking to him, and I’m sure I’ll see him at Gronk’s [Rob Gronkowski] induction on Saturday.”
Of course, Brady spent about two decades with the Patriots. That should have made Vrabel a bit excited for the possible meeting. But ahead of Super Bowl LX, Brady claimed that he didn’t “have a dog” in the game between the Patriots and the Seahawks. That seemingly irked his former teammates. Fans and his former teammates felt Brady could have openly rooted for New England since the Las Vegas Raiders, the franchise in which he holds a minority ownership stake, wasn’t in the Super Bowl.
Yet, Vrabel didn’t have any ill will toward his former quarterback. He seemed to understand that Brady needed to stay neutral because he’s a part-owner of an NFL franchise and a FOX Sports color commentator. The head coach claimed that Brady was a friend and he’d “always be a friend” regardless of what he was doing. After all, the two had played together for eight years in New England.
Vrabel further confirmed that he had text conversations with Brady after Super Bowl LX, even though they hadn’t met.
Meanwhile, Tom Brady expressed his true feelings about returning to the Patriots’ home ground. Unlike his former teammate, the seven-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback felt a pang of nostalgia when he thought of going back to Gillette Stadium.
“It’ll be certainly emotional,” Brady told FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd. “Every inch of that stadium I’ve been through so many times, from the locker rooms to the meeting rooms, the fields. I had just so many memorable plays in that stadium. Big games, championship games and rivalry games, division-clinching games…
“So to be back there and to really understand what that Patriot organization is all about. And to convey that to the fans in a way where I’m not talking about myself. I’m really talking about this awesome program that’s been built. And the Patriots just always seem to do things the right way.”
Vrabel couldn’t resist poking fun at his mandatory broadcast meeting with Brady. Nevertheless, their relationship remains intact. Week 9 promises to be an unforgettable reunion at Gillette Stadium.