‘NFL on CBS’ announcers are big believers in Mike Vrabel and the Patriots

“I’m excited for people to see how this develops, because [Mike] Vrabel is a great football coach,” Tony Romo said.Barry Chin/Globe Staff

CBS isn’t quite the “official” AFC network anymore now that the NFL implemented cross-flexing to give CBS and Fox an equal share of premium games. For example, CBS’s No. 1 broadcast team of Jim Nantz and Tony Romo will call Packers-Lions in Week 1, a game that traditionally would be on Fox.

But CBS is still heavily invested in the AFC, and that is certainly the case for the Patriots, who will have 11 (and possibly 12) games broadcast on the “Tiffany Network” this fall. Plus, CBS has several announcers with close ties to the Patriots and coach Mike Vrabel.

So it only made sense to hop on the Amtrak earlier this month and head to Times Square to talk to the “NFL on CBS” gang about the new-look Patriots.

The overriding theme: A lot more confidence in the direction of the franchise than a year ago under then-coach Jerod Mayo.

Romo: The Patriots didn’t get the No. 1 broadcast team in 2024, and may not see Romo again this year. But Romo is bullish on the leadership duo of Vrabel and Josh McDaniels.

“I’m excited for people to see how this develops, because Vrabel is a great football coach,” Romo said. “This is a team that could come on very fast. You put Vrabel and Josh McDaniels together, you get a young quarterback [Drake Maye], and you got some juice. I’m just saying that team, don’t be surprised if they have a really good season this year. I see the signs of this turning around very fast. They’re one of my surprise teams.”

J.J. Watt: CBS’s new No. 2 analyst, who will call Patriots-Steelers in Week 3, Watt spent four years with Vrabel in Houston when Vrabel was linebackers coach and then defensive coordinator. Watt chuckled at Vrabel breaking up a training camp fight and getting a bloody cheek.

“We all miss playing when we’re done. He just lets those thoughts win sometimes,” Watt said.

Watt said Vrabel brings “instant credibility” and “gravitas” to New England given his success there as a player plus his track record as a head coach in Tennessee. In 2019, Vrabel took the Titans to the AFC Championship game, and in 2021, he won NFL Coach of the Year.

Watt thinks Maye can be “great,” and thinks eight or nine wins is a “proper baseline” for the Patriots after consecutive 4-13 seasons.

“The first year is always hard, but I know that guys who in that first year work on fundamentals, like Mike will, can really lock a team in quick,” Watt said. “Because you’re not going to beat yourself. He’s always going to be on top of the little rules so you can take advantage.”

“They’ve got a good young quarterback, they’re building a great team around him, they just need somebody to lay that foundation, and I think Mike’s that guy.”

Jason McCourty: A member of CBS’s No. 4 broadcasting team, who will call Patriots-Dolphins in Week 2, McCourty has gotten a close look at the Patriots this training camp as a TV analyst for the first two preseason games. McCourty, who has also taken in a handful of practices, said he sees “a ton of excitement, a ton of hope.”

“When you’re looking at the sidelines, when you see a Stefon Diggs, Robert Spillane, Mack Hollins, the draft picks, you can feel the influx of talent and the excitement that has gone along with it,” he said. “We went to the joint practice [against Washington], it was packed. There were people everywhere. So I think you feel that newness and everyone is fired up.”

McCourty said he was impressed by the Patriots’ physicality in their preseason opener, from players such as TreVeyon Henderson, Antonio Gibson, and Will Campbell.

“When you’re a new culture with a lot of new members on your team, a lot of it is building your identity,” McCourty said. “Watching that first preseason game, you saw a tough-ass team, the way these guys finished.”

McCourty said he expects the Patriots to take a big jump this season.

“I keep saying they’re going to be a lot better than anticipated,” he said. “I think New England is very much in that mix, and could easily be challenging Buffalo for the top of that division.”

Logan Ryan: He’s a newcomer in the rotation after retiring following the 2023 season. Ryan, who will call select games this fall, is at the center of the Venn diagram — he played for the Patriots from 2013-16, and played for Vrabel in Tennessee in 2018-19.

Ryan had been in Tennessee for a year when Vrabel replaced Mike Mularkey in 2018, so he saw Vrabel’s impact firsthand.

“He made it very clear what the standards were going to be, similar to Bill [Belichick], and that was very different from what Tennessee was used to,” Ryan said. “He challenged the top players right away, and they weren’t used to that. I remember Taylor Lewan being one, he definitely had a tough time, he wasn’t used to hearing that stuff.”

“But [Vrabel] corrected accountability, and I think that’s the first job of a new head coach.”

Ryan said players generally respected Vrabel because he was direct and honest.

“He’ll never say anything to the media that he wouldn’t say to your face,” Ryan said. “He always says he treats you how you treat the team. If you’re not being respectful to the team, he’s not too respectful to you. Everything has to be earned.”

As far as expectations for the Patriots, Ryan is not holding back.

“I think the Patriots are the most exciting team in football this year,” he said. “I think they got the right man at coach. They have a quarterback coming off a good rookie year with good talent around them. They have, in my opinion, a top-five defense in the NFL — definitely a top-five secondary. And I think the sky’s the limit.”

“Buffalo’s the top of that division right now, but I think the Pats will be knocking on the door there, and the playoffs should be well, well within their expectations. I know Vrabel will take it one game at a time, but I think the fans should be really excited.”

Former Patriot Jason McCourty (left) will call NFL games on CBS this year. Matthew J. Lee/Matthew J. Lee/Globe staff

Voluntary program

Patriots’ buy-in not robust as thought

Mike Vrabel got good buy-in from his players during his first voluntary offseason program, and attendance was robust during the practices open to the media. But not quite as robust as originally thought.

We already knew new free agent cornerback Carlton Davis ($225,000) and receiver Stefon Diggs ($200,000) didn’t earn their offseason workout bonuses. They would have been earned by participating in at least 27 of 32 sessions, though Diggs did attend more after his Miami boat incident.

But running back Rhamondre Stevenson ($250,000) and right tackle Morgan Moses ($150,000) also didn’t earn their bonuses, per NFL Players Association records, as well as backup safety Marcus Epps ($25,000).

This is not to shame the players. The practices are voluntary, and they have every right to skip them. And most, if not all, of those players were rehabbing injuries, and have every right to train on their own. But it is interesting to note that three of the Patriots’ top free agent acquisitions chose mostly to do their own thing in the spring, and even turned down free money.

Receiver Stefon Diggs didn’t earn his $200,000 offseason workout bonus.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff

Ex-Patriots

Checking in on some old friends

A few thoughts on former Patriots around the NFL:

▪ The Dolphins apparently decided that the path forward is to recreate the 2022 Patriots, who went 8-9. The Dolphins signed edge rusher Matthew Judon this past week, adding him to former teammates in cornerback Jack Jones, offensive tackle Yodny Cajuste, punter Jake Bailey and long snapper Joe Cardona. The Dolphins also have tight end Pharaoh Brown, who was on the 2023 Patriots.

▪ It’s probably not the worst thing that receivers Chris Godwin and Brandon Aiyuk turned down the Patriots’ big contract offers the last two years. The Buccaneers activated Godwin this past week, but he’s still likely out until at least October after suffering a dislocated ankle in Week 7. Even when he does return, he probably won’t be 100 percent for a while. That would not have solved the Patriots’ wide receiver issues and would have been money down the toilet, with the Patriots reportedly offering Godwin $30 million per year.

Same with Aiyuk, who is making $25 million this year but won’t play until at least October after suffering a serious ACL tear and more last year.

▪ Two former Patriots Super Bowl winners that I can’t believe are still playing, and I mean that as a positive: Raiders linebacker Elandon Roberts, now in his 10th season with his fourth team; and Raiders receiver Phillip Dorsett, who has been signed eight times by six teams since leaving the Patriots in 2020.

▪ Six former Patriots quarterbacks are backups elsewhere — Rams QB Jimmy Garoppolo, 49ers QB Mac Jones, Cardinals QB Jacoby Brissett, Broncos QB Jarrett Stidham, Cowboys QB Joe Milton, and Chiefs QB Bailey Zappe (third string). Former quarterback Malik Cunningham is still trying to make it as a receiver with the Ravens.

Etc.

NFL added cameras (some credit to Belichick)

As part of a media call on Thursday, the NFL announced that each stadium has been equipped with 12 additional cameras on every boundary to give additional views for instant replay. My immediate thought: The NFL finally held a bake sale.

Bill Belichick was long frustrated by the NFL’s longstanding hesitance to add more cameras for replay, and he needled the league for being cheap at the March 2014 owners meetings.

“We just spent however many millions of dollars on the replay system. I mean, there are 1,000 cameras in every stadium, so if somebody spills a beer on somebody, we have it on record, right?” Belichick said then. “Maybe we could have a bake sale to raise some money for the cameras. We could do a car wash.”

Live tackling

Speaking of Belichick, he provided an interesting observation at his Wednesday press conference at University of North Carolina when he said, “We’ve done a lot more live [tackling] work here than we ever did in the NFL, at any team I was ever on.”

“Without preseason games, we do need to do it … We really haven’t had too many issues, very few injuries to deal with, and even though we’ve had quite a bit of contact in our padded days, I think that part’s been really, really good.”

It underscores how in the NCAA, with no players’ union or collective bargaining agreement, Belichick has more control and fewer restrictions over how he conducts practices.

After his press conference, Belichick told me the players in college are more willing to do live tackling, and that he sees the improvement.

“You could go live in the NFL, but it’s just harder,” Belichick said. “We had some live periods, but it was generally, I’d say, harder to convince the players, the willingness of the players, because they’ve had a lot of live periods. But some young guys need it, and we did it with them. These guys need it, and it benefits them.”

Child’s play

Some of J.J. Watt’s favorite memories with Mike Vrabel in Houston came before practice when they had time to kill and were looking for ways to compete. They settled on a classic kids’ game.

“Everybody meanders their way out to practice, and instead of everybody just standing around, we decided, ‘Let’s just play a little Four Square,’ ” Watt said. “We played Four Square before every practice. He was always in there, always competitive, liked to give some [expletive] back and forth. It was very heated at all times. Never physical fights, but a lot of arguments, ‘Over on the line, off the line.’ ”

Colts

A few quick points on the Colts naming Daniel Jones their starting quarterback over Anthony Richardson:

▪ The move was obvious. The Colts signed Jones in March and are paying him more than three times Richardson’s salary this year ($14 million to $3.8 million).

▪ Coach Shane Steichen missed the playoffs in his first two years, and clearly is feeling the heat, especially with a new owner in Carlie Irsay-Gordon.

▪ This was the right move for the Colts. Richardson has barely completed 50 percent of his passes and struggles to run an offense. Better to move on than stick with him just because they drafted him No. 4 overall.

▪ Richardson should not have been drafted fourth, which was absurdly high for a player who started just 13 games in college and was raw. Richardson should have been a third-round pick and sat behind a veteran, but the Colts overdrafted him and threw him right into the meat grinder.

▪ The Colts probably need to give Richardson a fresh start. The Raiders and Steelers should be among the teams giving them a call.

▪ Jones will be the 12th Colts starting quarterback since Andrew Luck’s surprise retirement in 2019. Blame the first couple of years of dysfunction on Luck, but the Colts still can’t get out of their own way six years later.

Extra points

Urban Meyer is a little biased against Jim Harbaugh, but he made a good point on “The Triple Option” podcast when he noted that former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was suspended for six games by the NFL when he left the school amid scandal and was hired by the Colts. If the NFL cares about precedent, it probably should suspend Harbaugh for his role in the Michigan sign-stealing scandal … More evidence that the Jaguars might not be good, but they sure will be fun: On the 70-yard field goal by Cam Little two weeks ago, the Jaguars only had 10 players on the field … Bears third-year quarterback Tyson Bagent took advantage of the CBA to get a new two-year, $10 million contract this past week. No drafted player is allowed to sign a new contract until after his third season. But undrafted players such as Bagent can sign after two years … Aaron Rodgers, new to the Steelers, missed almost the entire offseason, then didn’t play in any preseason games. Good luck getting off to a fast start … Between “Hard Knocks,” “The Kingdom,” “Quarterback,” and “America’s Team,” the zone is currently flooded with NFL docuseries … Call me naïve, but I believe ESPN when it says that its new merger with the NFL had nothing to do with the cancellation of the Spike Lee/Colin Kaepernick project. Lee told Business Insider last week that “that thing fell apart a year ago,” and I’m guessing it was because Kaepernick wasn’t the easiest person to work with. In his new memoir, “Turf War,” former NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith details his frustration in working with Kaepernick in 2017, describing “repeated unforced errors on Colin’s part” as he tried to bring attention to police brutality and racial inequality, questionable “messaging discipline,” and poor communication. “Most times when we reached out to Colin, we never heard back.”