After handling business against the Houston Texans, the Drake Maye-led New England Patriots have been dealt a massive blow to their offense. With the Denver Broncos up next in the AFC Championship game, head coach Mike Vrabel shared an update on wide receiver Mack Hollins, who has missed the last four games.

In his recent press conference, Vrabel confirmed that the veteran wideout will remain on the injury reserve as he continues to recover from an abdominal injury. NBCS Boston’s Phill Perry confirmed the development.

“Mike Vrabel says Mack Hollins won’t be activated off IR today,” Perry reported on X. “Today is the first day Hollins is eligible to practice after missing the last four games with an abdomen injury.”

Hollins had 46 catches for 550 yards and two touchdowns in 15 regular-season appearances after signing a two-year contract with the Patriots this offseason. Throughout this time, the eight-year pro has also emerged as one of the locker room’s most prominent leaders.

The 32-year-old reportedly picked up his injury ahead of New England’s Week 17 game against the New York Jets. After being placed on injury reserve, Hollins was forced to sit out the remaining two games on the Pats’ regular-season schedule, as well as their two playoff games to date.

As Hollins nears a return to action soon, many Patriots stars have expressed excitement about the veteran wideout. In fact, New England receiver Kayshon Boutte could not hide his excitement when speaking during a press conference after the Patriots registered a 28-16 victory over the Texans in the divisional round.

“It would mean a lot,” Boutte said, as reported by MassLive. “Even before this game, that was the message to our receivers. Me and (Stefon) Diggs come out before the game, and we talk together when we come out of the tunnel for warmups and just said, ‘One more game, and we get Mack back.’ But I think it would mean a lot to Mack. We bust our ass to get where we are today, the AFC Championship.”

Although this didn’t end up happening for Boutte and the Patriots, his comments reflect the importance of Mack Hollins in the New England locker room.

Now, coming back to Mike Vrabel’s press conference ahead of the AFC Championship game, the head coach also delved into a special plan he and his staff are cooking up for the Broncos as the Patriots look to secure their place in the Super Bowl for the first time since 2019.

Mike Vrabel shares Patriots’ plan for the new Broncos QB

After defeating the Buffalo Bills in a thrilling divisional round matchup, the Denver Broncos faced a massive problem as head coach Sean Payton revealed the unfortunate news of Bo Nix suffering a season-ending ankle injury. With their QB1 out of contention, Payton then revealed how the Broncos will hand over the reins of their offense to backup shot caller Jarrett Stidham.

Addressing this new challenge, Mike Vrabel was asked about whether the Patriots will use offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels’ insight on Stidham ahead of the conference finale.

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“I think every week we try to use every resource we have at our disposal,” Vrabel responded.

The question was raised as Josh McDaniels and Jarrett Stidham go back a long way. McDaniels was the offensive coordinator who helped draft Stidham into the NFL with the New England Patriots in 2019, and later traded for him to join the Las Vegas Raiders as head coach in 2022.

Further, Stidham’s first two NFL regular-season starts came with the Raiders as they looked to move away from Derek Carr. The former Auburn quarterback then started two more times with Denver, doing the same with Russell Wilson. In his four starts, Stidham completed 85-of-136 passes for 1,080 yards with six touchdowns and four interceptions, ran for 92 yards on 23 carries, and got sacked 13 times.

With Jarrett Stidham emerging as a new challenge for the Patriots, Mike Vrabel has the perfect option to counter the Broncos quarterback and then take New England one more step closer towards the Lombardi Trophy.