The New England Patriots take on the Denver Broncos in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday, with the chance to return to the Super Bowl for the first time since the Tom Brady era.
The Patriots have been making roster moves throughout the playoffs, hoping to take advantage of matchups along the way. One of those moves was signing defensive end Darrell Taylor to the practice squad on January 14. The Houston Texans had released him two days prior, and perhaps the hope was to see what they could glean from the 28-year-old before they played.
The Patriots defeated the Texans and moved on to the AFC title game, so perhaps the move paid dividends. However, the presumed hope would have been that Taylor could continue contributing to New England’s efforts as they moved deeper into the playoffs.
During his press conference on Friday, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was asked about how Taylor had gotten acclimated with the team so far, leading to a bit of an awkward moment. Turns out, New England had already decided to release the defensive end; they just hadn’t made the official announcement by then.
Reporter: “How’s Darrell Taylor gotten acclimated so far?”
Mike Vrabel: “Uhhhh. Yeah. We released Darrell Taylor. We’ll put that out here at 4:00. So not very well.” 😬 pic.twitter.com/hR9ysMWzQz
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 23, 2026
“Uhh, yeah, we released Darrell Taylor,” said a stone-faced Vrabel. “We’ll put that out there at 4:00. So, not very well.”
Sure enough, the official announcement came down when Vrabel said it would.
Patriots release DE Darrell Taylor from the practice squad: https://t.co/QpmvPHogqL pic.twitter.com/IZ3W8tka4p
— New England Patriots (@Patriots) January 23, 2026
Well, if anyone signs Taylor for next season, they know he’ll be well-motivated whenever they play the Patriots.
About Sean Keeley
Along with writing for Awful Announcing and The Comeback, Sean is the Managing Editor for Comeback Media. Previously, he created the Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and wrote 'How To Grow An Orange: The Right Way to Brainwash Your Child Into Rooting for Syracuse.' He has also written non-Syracuse-related things for SB Nation, Curbed, and other outlets. He currently lives in Seattle where he is complaining about bagels. Send tips/comments/complaints to sean@thecomeback.com.