Patriots

Patriots HC Mike Vrabel on WR Stefon Diggs and DT Christian Barmore (who was out with an illness): “I haven’t heard anything that would keep either player from the game.” (Garafolo)
Vrabel on if he was disappointed in the charges against the duo: “Not disappointed at all. These are allegations. It’s things that we have to handle, and every day that there’s distractions—some are smaller than others—I’m confident that we’ll focus on the Dolphins and those two individuals will be able to handle the ongoing legal process.”
When asked if he was afraid it would be a distraction: “Afraid? No, I’m not afraid. I’m 50 years old. Going to be 51. I’m not afraid. I love coaching this football team. I love the way they come to work. I love the youth, I love the veterans, I love the leadership, I’ve appreciated everyone’s growth throughout this process.” (Kyed)
Per the NFL Transactions wire, the Patriots worked out two offensive linemen on Tuesday, including C Doug Kramer and G Thomas Perry.

Raiders

Raiders DE Maxx Crosby made an appearance on SiriusXM’s Let’s Go! podcast and spoke about his love for the game amid the recent drama of him being placed on injured reserve to end the season.

“For me, my love for the game has been since the day I started, since I could remember,” Crosby told Jim Gray. “My whole life has been football and sports. That has been my obsession since I was a little kid. Yeah, I’ve always — I mean, I’m an addict to the core. I’ve had an obsessive mindset and that addictive personality my whole life. But when it comes to football, there’s certain things that I truly believe in, and I feel like there’s core principles that you gotta live by, and there’s a certain way the game needs to be played. And there’s a certain approach that you have when you go into the field. And the way you look at it, from my perspective, is you play to win. You play for your teammates, you put everything you have into the game, no matter what it is. There’s gonna be bumps and bruises. You’re gonna be banged up. That is a part of the game and the nature of the beast.”

“I never wanna look back and say I wish I would’ve, or I should’ve, done this,” Crosby added. “I’m all in, and I’ve been all in since day one, and everybody that’s with me on a daily basis knows my approach to this game. They could say I might be on edge. Sometimes I might be. But at the end of the day, they know my intentions. And when you have real relationships and you lead by action instead of words, when you go out there and show the guys, this is how we do it, this is how you work, and you prove it every day, that holds a lot more weight than words. Yeah, I love the game, man. This is my whole life.”

The Raiders tried out DB Brandon Hill on Tuesday, per the NFL Transactions wire.

Steelers

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin told reporters that he is committed to making sure QB Aaron Rodgers hasn’t played his last game in black and gold when Week 18 comes to a close.

“I don’t know that I’ve taken time to ponder that,” Tomlin said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I’m just committed to making sure that it’s not. He’s certainly been an awesome contributor to our efforts, not only from a talent perspective and an experience perspective, but just his professionalism, his relationship with the game, his love for his teammates, and his willingness to help them grow and get better and gain a better understanding each and every day has been cool to be part of.”

“That’s one of the things that made him really attractive to us: that can-do attitude, the experience and résumé that goes along with it,” Tomlin added. “I don’t think it’s work for him. I think it’s as natural as breathing, and so if he’s breathing, I expect to see that from him as we lean in on this game.”

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