Mike Vrabel was back with the New England Patriots on Monday, two days after he voluntarily left the team to seek counseling amid a controversy over his visit to an Arizona resort with then-Athletic reporter Dianna Russini.

Vrabel was photographed in Utah at a Salt Lake City airport boutique on Saturday, when Rounds 4-7 of the NFL draft transpired.

ESPN reported Vrabel was in “constant contact via email and text message” with the Patriots during his brief absence and returned Monday to resume “full responsibilities as head coach.” The Patriots claimed not to be in contact with Vrabel while he was away from the team and stated that the only messages exchanged were sent from team employees to Vrabel, according to vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf.

“We kind of talked through things and made the decision that the time away really needs to be time away, so we were not in contact with Mike (Saturday) other than some just, ‘Hope everything’s going OK’ kind of texts early (in the) morning,” Wolf said.

The 50-year-old coach said he felt family counseling was necessary to move forward after the alleged tryst with Russini became public.

“This is what I have to do to be the best husband, father and coach that I possibly can be. This is not an easy thing for me to admit, but it is one that I know will make me a better person,” he said.

Vrabel and Russini both have spouses. The New York Post published photos of the two of them in Sedona, Ariz., ahead of league meetings in Phoenix last month. Russini resigned from The Athletic, where she was lead NFL insider, amid an investigation by the New York Times-run organization into the nature of her relationship with Vrabel.

Vrabel spoke openly to the media last Tuesday about the fallout.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said during the draft that the league is not considering punishment or further investigation into the matter under the “off-field conduct” policy.

Vrabel became the head coach of the Patriots — the team for which he played — ahead of the 2025 season and guided New England to Super Bowl LX. The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Patriots 29-13.

Vrabel earned his second AP NFL Coach of the Year honor last season after winning the award in 2021 when he led the Titans. He was Tennessee’s head coach from 2018-23.

–Field Level Media

Alexander Blockx of Belgium was the latest player to secure his first career top-10 victory when he upset Canadian third seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6 (3), 6-3 on Monday in the third round of the Madrid Open.

Blockx, 21, reached the Round of 16 for the second straight ATP Masters 1000 event after first doing so at the Monte Carlo Masters.

His first career match against Auger-Aliassime, ranked fifth in the world, was by far the biggest achievement of his young career.

“In the first set, I was just trying to find my game,” Blockx said. “On my service games it went pretty smoothly, (as it did) on his service games. I had a couple of chances. But in the second set, it was one of my best levels I have played here.”

Blockx shone on his service games, winning 35 of 42 first-serve points (83.3%) and 50 of his 66 service points in all (75.8%) while firing five aces.

“I was serving amazing from the beginning of the match,” Blockx said. “I had so much confidence. I didn’t even think about panicking or losing my serve. I was playing well in the rallies, too, so I knew even if I missed a few serves, I could play the rallies.”

Blockx is the latest in a strong young contingent to earn his first top-10 victory during this tournament, after Spanish teen Rafael Jodar knocked off Australian Alex de Minaur and Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic defeated Ben Shelton in earlier rounds.

No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev of Germany had to fend off a late stand from France’s Terence Atmane to win 6-3, 7-6 (2). Atmane trailed 5-2 in the second set but saved two match points en route to forcing the tiebreaker, where Zverev ultimately seized control.

A two-time Madrid champion (2018, 2021), Zverev has now reached the Round of 16 in all nine of his starts at the tournament.

Zverev’s next opponent will be Czech up-and-comer Jakub Mensik, the 23rd seed, who took down Russian 13th seed Karen Khachanov 6-4, 7-6 (11). Khachanov saved two match points during the tiebreaker but Mensik staved off four of Khachanov’s set-point opportunities before getting the job done.

No. 7 seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia eased past Norwegian qualifier Nicolai Budkov Kjaer 6-3, 6-2 in 69 minutes, while No. 10 Flavio Cobolli of Italy won by the same scoreline over Paraguayan qualifier Adolfo Daniel Vallejo. Medvedev and Cobolli will meet in the fourth round.

Tour veteran Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece was pleased with his performance in a 6-4, 6-2 win over Spanish qualifier Daniel Merida in 68 minutes.

“I really love the game when I get to discover tennis in such ways. Just hitting winners, missing a few times, but overall trying to take the most out of it. Seeing good rotation of my ball and seeing I can actually press and create some big shots, these are the types of moments that make me really enjoy the game,” Tsitsipas said.

His next opponent will be No. 12 Casper Ruud of Norway, who beat No. 20 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain 6-3, 6-1.

No. 16 Francisco Cerundolo of Argentina sailed past No. 18 Luciano Darderi of Italy 6-2, 6-3, and will take on Blockx in the Round of 16.

–Field Level Media

The Toronto Blue Jays placed veteran right-hander Max Scherzer on the 15-day injured list with left ankle inflammation and right forearm tendinitis on Monday.

The 41-year-old has been one strikeout shy of a milestone 3,500 for the past nine days but couldn’t hit that mark in losses to the Arizona Diamondbacks on April 18 and the Cleveland Guardians on Friday.

His outing against the Guardians garnered no strikeouts and drove his ERA to 9.64 after giving up seven earned runs on 82 pitches in 2 1/3 innings, though Scherzer said after the game, “I would not characterize this start as the fault of my forearm.”

Scherzer has reportedly been dealing with the forearm tendinitis since early April.

“The doctor said, ‘Hey, take five or seven days, let this all heal, and then ramp back up and you’ll see,” Scherzer said Monday. “‘Your body will tell you how fast you can ramp up.'”

It’s unclear who will fill in for Scherzer’s next scheduled start on Wednesday. Left-hander Eric Lauer had been expected to move to the bullpen when Trey Yesavage is activated for his season debut Tuesday against the visiting Boston Red Sox after starting the season on the IL with a right shoulder impingement. Lauer could be moved back to the starting rotation in light of Scherzer’s injuries.

Reliever Chase Lee was called up to fill the 26-man roster on Monday but another move will need to be made for Yesavage’s return.

Scherzer’s move to the IL is one in a long list for the Blue Jays this season, a group of more than a dozen players that also includes designated hitter George Springer (fractured left big toe); outfielders Addison Barger (sprained left ankle), Anthony Santander (torn labrum in left shoulder) and Nathan Lukes (hamstring strain); catcher Alejandro Kirk (fractured left thumb); starting pitchers Bowden Francis (elbow surgery), Jose Berrios (stress fracture in right elbow), Cody Ponce (torn ACL in right knee) and Shane Bieber (right elbow inflammation); and right-handed reliever Yimi Garcia (elbow).

The Blue Jays sit in fourth place in the AL East with a 12-15 record. They open a three-game home series Monday against the Red Sox.

–Field Level Media