PALO ALTO, Calif. – The New England Patriots returned to Stanford Stadium for a final time on Saturday afternoon to take a team photo and spend time with their family and friends ahead of Super Bowl LX.
Quarterback Drake Maye was the first player on the field to take photos. Players wore the white jerseys and white pants they will don on Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks. A team photographer took photos of each position group in front of a backdrop before players lined up in numerical orders on the bleachers for the official Super Bowl photo.
After a couple of quick snaps, players were free to mingle with their families and friends. Assistant coaches chased toddlers around the field, while a group of older children took turns hurling themselves into a tackling dummy. Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels pulled both Maye and receiver Stefon Diggs aside to take photos with McDaniels’ kids, who range in age from 13 to 21.
“I want them to enjoy this time with their families,” head coach Mike Vrabel said. “You can see how many people care about us and helped us get to this position, and this is all part of being able to celebrate it.”
Vrabel was planning to speak with the team later Saturday at their hotel in Santa Clara. He planned to remind players about the team’s path here, and the identity they built along the way.
“Everybody talked about getting to this point, and hoped for it to happen at the beginning of the year. Now it’s real,” Vrabel said. “That’s what I think has been pretty cool.”
The Patriots made two roster moves on Saturday, elevating defensive lineman Leonard Taylor III and running back D’Ernest Johnson off the practice squad.
–Pro Football Writers of America
