FOXBOROUGH – Before the start of Monday’s Patriots practice, Mike Vrabel had his team gather around the center of the practice field adjacent to Gillette Stadium.
The team circled their head coach and soon began to clap and offer up hugs and handshakes to several teammates as Vrabel announced six new captains to begin the Patriots 2025 NFL season.
On Monday morning, players voted in six new captains – quarterback Drake Maye, tight end Hunter Henry, linebacker Robert Spillane, cornerback Marcus Jones, edge rusher Harold Landry, and special teamer Brenden Schooler.
This group includes five new captains for the franchise, with Henry the only player to previously wear the ‘C’ patch on his jersey for the Patriots. This marks the first time Maye, Jones, and Schooler have been captains in the NFL. Spillane was a captain last season in Las Vegas.
“Players voted this morning, so we’ll inform those guys before practice,” Vrabel said. “I think we all know that every year is a new year in this league, so that’s kind of how it goes. The leadership has to grow, whether it’s a captain, we’ve talked about that – having any restrictions on leadership, and hopefully at whatever level we have guys who can lead. We’ll have captains and then hopefully a lot more leaders as well.”
Vrabel and the Patriots quickly reshaped their leadership group. This offseason, the team moved on from all six captains from a year ago – David Andrews, Jabrill Peppers, Ja’Whaun Bentley, Jacoby Brissett, Joe Cardona, and Deatrich Wise Jr. Out of that group, Andrews, Peppers, Bentley, and Cardona were released. Wise signed with Washington, and Brissett signed with Arizona.
On Monday, Vrabel was asked if the team tried to clear out the former leadership group.
“I never really thought of it in terms of that when we try to make decisions,” Vrabel said. “Some of those players were free agents. Some of them were currently on the roster. I don’t think that’s ever been a conscious decision. Just trying to evaluate the roster and provide the pieces that we feel like we need right now.”
