Mike Vrabel Dishes On First Career Training Camp Fight And How That Brought Greg Lloyd Around

The New England Patriots are wearing pads in practice for the first time on Monday and that, of course, sent new coach Mike Vrabel into nostalgia mode about his playing days and his first day in pads in the NFL…

…The day Vrabel got into his first NFL training camp fight.

BALTIMORE, MD - OCTOBER 29: Linebacker Mike Vrabel #56 of the Pittsburgh Steelers leaves the bench to go in for a play in a NFL game with the Baltimore Ravens at PSINet Stadium on October 29, 2000 in Baltimore, Maryland. The Steelers won the game 9-6. (Photo by Michael J. Minardi/Getty Images)

Vrabel's First Fight Led To Greg Lloyd Talk

Rewind to 1997 when Vrabel was a rookie with the Pittsburgh Steelers and how he was soon trading shots with a tight end from yesteryear.

"It's a good story about, don't use the fight, but about a veteran player," Vrabel shared with reporters on Monday. "Greg Lloyd was a very dominant player, imposing figure. I got drafted in April, and he didn't say a word to me through OTAs. 

"I'm on the defense, mind you. He didn't say a word to me the entire offseason. We go to training camp. There's a fight with me and a tight end. I'm exhausted after practice, and I see this shadow come over me as I'm sitting in the locker room.

"[Lloyd] in his deep voice, and he's like, "Yeah, the next time you want to come up underneath the face mask," Vrabel said showing off his uppercut. "And I was like, ‘You just now are going to talk to me?’ "

Lloyd's response was a classic display of 1990s NFL culture, which was much different than today.

2 Aug 1997:  Defensive end Greg Lloyd #95 of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the Steelers 28-14 win over the Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn  /Allsport

Greg Lloyd Didn't Talk To Punks

"He's like, 'Yeah, I just wanted to make sure you weren't like a punk, and then I would talk to you,' " Vrabel quoted Lloyd. "So, it's a good example of just a veteran making sure that rookies kind of earn their stripes, I guess, a little bit."

The point of all this is that this week the Patriots and all the other NFL teams will finally put on pads as their initial training camp acclimation period ends. 

And with the pads coming on, and more contact allowed, players can more quickly lose patience with one another and that is where fights start.

Vrabel, who has already had his moments with reporters this training camp, was unusually open during this press conference and that included explaining he doesn't want his players fighting – even though he did.

And the coach has told his team as much. It's one of many messages he's delivered so far.

Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel at opening day of the New England Patriots training camp on July 23, 2025, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts.

Mike Vrabel Memory Of Fight

"Of course," Vrabel said. "We want to be able to practice the same way we have to play, which is physical and within the rules. Have a great play demeanor, finish through the whistle and all those things. 

"If you throw a punch, you're going to get kicked out of the game, which is going to cost the team. So, I don't anticipate any of that. I want us to celebrate with our team and the defensive unit, celebrate with each other. Offensive unit, get excited and celebrate with each other. Not get into the taunting and the things that we can't have during the game."

Yeah, but that doesn't quite create the kind of stories Vrabel just told about his first training camp with the Steelers. It also doesn't leave lasting memories, as Vrabel knows, because he still remembers that first fight and even whether he won or lost.

"I think I did," Vrabel said.