A new report claims ties between Mike Vrabel and Dianna Russini altered NFL Draft plans and affected the Titans’ blockbuster A.J. Brown trade. Since the scandal over photos showing the married Vrabel and also-married Russini in an intimate setting erupted on April 7, the story has made for almost relentless tabloid fodder. But whether the alleged Vrabel-Russini relationship affected NFL football decisions was unclear.
But an explosive new report by A to Z Sports co-founder and owner Austin Stanley, an expert on the Tennessee Titans where Vrabel was head coach from 2018 through 2023, alleges that Vrabel may have fed Russini “inside information” that directly affected the Titans’ plans in the NFL Draft and other offseason moves in at least four instances. The allegations are drawing renewed scrutiny because the report specifically connects Russini’s NFL reporting to major Titans personnel decisions, including the franchise-shifting trade that sent A.J. Brown to the Eagles during the 2022 NFL Draft.
Inside Info Led Texans to Draft C.J. Stroud Earlier Than Planned: Report
Russini’s former employer, the New York Times-owned sports site The Athletic, launched an internal investigation into Russini’s reporting after her ties with Vrabel were made public April 7 by the New York Post. That investigation remains ongoing.
Russini was an employee of ESPN at the time of the Titans incidents reported by A to Z Sports, however.
Most notably, in his report published Saturday, Stanley says that her relationship with Vrabel “helped her break news with inside information of the Titans franchise-altering trade of WR A.J. Brown to the Eagles.”
The exchange of behind-the-scenes information between Vrabel and Russini also affected the Houston Texans’ decision to draft quarterback C.J. Stroud with the No. 2 overall draft pick in 2023, and then immediately surrender significant draft assets to trade up to No. 3 to take pass-rusher Will Anderson Jr.
Russini Got Scoop on A.J. Brown Trade
Russini was scheduled to be present in Indianapolis to cover the 2022 draft for ESPN, Stanley reported, but instead the reporter stayed behind in Nashville, home of the Titans. But she somehow broke the story of Tennessee’s blockbuster draft-day trade of Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles anyway.
“It was a very popular assumption by many in the Nashville market, by media and Titans fans, that Russini’s Titans source was Vrabel,” Stanley wrote. “Breaking the A.J. Brown trade on draft night, a night that is owned every year by Adam Schefter, was extra ammo to back up that assumption.”
But that wasn’t the end of Russini’s draft-day activity fueled by her relationship with Vrabel, according to the A to Z Sports founder. The following year, Stanley alleges in his report, the Houston Texans hastily altered their draft plans when Russini reported that the Titans were interested in Stroud.
Did Titans Plan to Trade Up to Draft Stroud?
In a tweet which she then deleted, according to a contemporaneous report by Chris Thomas of the Nashville Tennessean, “Russini reported the Titans withdrew their trade offer with the Arizona Cardinals, who held the No. 3 pick, after Stroud was selected. One pick later, the Texans traded back up to No. 3 to select Alabama star linebacker Will Anderson in exchange for the No. 12 selection later in the first round.”
Russini’s reporting also may have affected the Titans’ 2021 trade for wide receiver Julio Jones, Stanley reported.
“If you’re one to buy the theories that Russini helped the Titans with the Julio Jones trade in 2021, and then hurt the Titans chances to draft CJ Stroud in 2023, then there are dots to connect four consecutive offseasons of this affair playing a heavy hand in football transactions,” the A to Z Sports co-founder wrote.
Report Says Mike Vrabel, Dianna Russini Ties Altered NFL Draft Plans