Mike Vrabel took the podium ahead of the New England Patriots’ first open training camp practice on Saturday, and he was so prepared for a question on Gabe Jacas that he cut off the reporter’s question.
Vrabel had little to add to the puzzling situation regarding the Patriots’ second-round draft pick, who still hasn’t signed his rookie contract and hasn’t even been seen at the team facility since a brief off-field appearance during rookie minicamp.
According to Vrabel, Jacas not only remains away from team headquarters — but far away from Foxboro altogether.
“I don’t think that Gabe is local,” Vrabel said. “I don’t think that he’s in New England.”
In prime Bill Belichick fashion, Vrabel may have been posturing.
Minutes before the Patriots were set to kick off training camp at Gillette Stadium, NFL insider Jordan Schultz reported that Jacas’ contract situation had already been resolved.
Sources: The #Patriots signed rookie OLB Gabe Jacas to a four-year, $8.6M contract.
— Jordan Schultz (@Schultz_Report) July 25, 2026
Big news as New England traded up to draft Jacas, the former All-American out of Illinois, in the 2nd-round. pic.twitter.com/iLm1VGXMUi
So while Jacas wasn’t present for Day 1 of training camp, he should be on the field soon as the team works to get one of its most important draft picks healthy and up to speed.
Gabe Jacas now faces an uphill climb after missing valuable offseason time
The most frustrating part of Jacas’ situation is that rookie contracts are scaled for each selection of the draft. The only thing to really quibble over is language over injury guarantees.
Jacas had known injury concerns prior to the draft, including a hamstring issue that kept him from participating at the scouting combine or Illinois’ pro day. Pre-draft testing also revealed a stress fracture in his foot and a labral tear in his shoulder.
The contract holdup was likely due more to the “cleanup procedure” Jacas underwent following the draft. The team obviously wanted to understand the full scope of Jacas’ injury history with an eye on protecting its investment.
But Jacas is about to be a late arrival to the Patriots’ offseason program, and this next month will be all about how quickly he can make up for lost time.
Jacas was always slotted to earn $8.65 million over the balance of his four-year deal as the 55th overall pick — and a fully-guaranteed contract wasn’t on the table for him. Schultz didn’t include any details in his report, but based on the players selected around Jacas, around 75-80 percent of his deal should be fully guaranteed, with the bulk of the cash being paid out in Year 1.
What exactly the two sides have been haggling over is unclear, but it’s frustrating nonetheless. Vrabel confirmed Friday that top edge rusher Harold Landry Jr. would open camp on the active/PUP list. That means free agent addition Dre’Mont Jones and intriguing second-year pro Elijah Ponder are about to command first-team reps.
The silver lining? The Patriots haven’t even practiced in pads yet this offseason, and won’t for another week. If Jacas is healthy, he should be able to catch up on the physical reps in short order.
It’s the missed mental reps and install that could see him fall behind this summer and into the regular season. And with Landry already slowed by injuries entering his age-30 season, the Patriots will only have themselves to blame for a situation that should have been resolved months ago.
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