Mike Vrabel acknowledged the allegations against wide receiver Stefon Diggs and defensive lineman Christian Barmore, but as of Wednesday, he expected them to be available for the Patriots’ regular season finale against the Dolphins.
“I haven’t heard anything that would keep either player from the game,” the Patriots head coach said during his press conference.
The pair of New England stars — who hold critical roles on the 13-3 team that secured the AFC East title and still has an outside chance at the AFC’s No. 1 seed — have been the subject of disturbing allegations revealed over the last two days, with the accusations against Diggs emerging Tuesday and Barmore’s following on Wednesday.
The league confirmed to NFL Network that “there is no change to the status…Both are eligible to play at this time.”
“Well, I would say not disappointing at all,” Vrabel told reporters Wednesday when asked his disappointment with the situation. “I think that these are allegations. … It’s things that we have to handle and every day there are distractions, some are smaller than others. I’m confident that we’ll focus on the Dolphins. Those two individuals that you mentioned will be able to handle the ongoing legal process.”
Diggs, the polarizing 32-year-old wideout with a history of off-the-field controversies, was accused of hitting and choking a female employee during a money dispute in his home earlier this month, according to a police report of the alleged incident.
Bamore, a former second-round pick in his fifth season with the Patriots, is facing a domestic assault charge stemming from an Aug. 8 incident with a woman he was in a relationship with — where he was allegedly angry with the woman over the air conditioning temperature in his bedroom and where they also had an alleged argument over food, according to court documents.
The woman “intended to open the door and scream for help but Christian grabbed her before she could and threw her to the floor,” according to ESPN, which cited court documents.
Diggs’ attorney, David Meier, said in a statement that his client — who will be arraigned for one felony count of strangulation and one count of misdemeanor assault Jan. 23 — denied the accusations.
The Patriots said in separate statements that they were aware of both incidents.
Barmore, who is scheduled to be arraigned Feb. 3, didn’t practice for the Patriots on Wednesday due to an illness, Vrabel said.
“We’ve been aware of these allegations,” Vrabel told reporters. “Yesterday and today isn’t the first that we’ve heard about them, and we tried to do everything in accordance with the league policy and making sure that we’re in compliance with the league.”
A punishment from the league would not come until “an indictment by a grand jury, the filing of charges by a prosecutor, or an arraignment in a criminal court.”
In his first season with the Patriots, Diggs has collected 970 receiving yards and four touchdowns, while Barmore has recorded 26 total tackles and nine quarterback hits.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
