Why Mike Vrabel felt it was an ‘easy pick’ to name Anfernee Jennings a game captain for AFC title game

New England Patriots

Jennings, who the team drafted in 2020, is the Patriots’ longest-tenured player.

By Conor Roche

January 23, 2026 | 4:38 PM

2 minutes to read

Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel is honoring the team’s longest-tenured player in a neat way for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game.

Edge rusher Anfernee Jennings will be a team captain when the Patriots take on the Broncos in Denver on Sunday, Vrabel shared on Friday.

“Really well. He’s going to be a game captain, and that’s deservedly so,” Vrabel told reporters when asked how he felt Jennings has performed over the last few games. “He has a professionalism that he’s shown throughout this entire season. Appreciate it, appreciate him taking advantage of his opportunities, playing physical, playing on special teams, finding a role.

“So again, that was an easy pick for me this week.”

While each team has a handful of captains (the Patriots have six), there are some weeks when a team might designate a player to be a captain for a specific game. When a player gets that honor, they usually take part in the opening coin toss.

Jennings, who the Patriots drafted in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft, said that he found out he was going to be the team’s game captain for Sunday when Vrabel showed his high school highlights during a team meeting on Friday. In one of the highlights, Jennings threw a touchdown and told reporters that it was a “dope” feeling to realize in that moment he was going to be a game captain for Sunday’s AFC title tilt.

“It means a lot,” Jennings told reporters, via MassLive’s Mark Daniels. “Just put my head down and work and control what I can control. I’m trying to do my job and help the team win in any way I can. We’re at this point and it’s a blessing, but nothing changes. I still want to help my team win, put my best foot forward, go out and have fun with the guys.”

Jennings has played a noticeable role for a Patriots pass rush that’s logged nine sacks so far this postseason. The sixth-year edge rusher is responsible for two of those sacks, matching his total from the regular season. Jennings has logged a sack in each playoff game, adding six pressures this postseason, per Pro Football Focus.

While Jennings has seen a reduction in defensive snaps this year from last year, his production in the postseason is a sign of how far he’s come since his early seasons with the Patriots. He was primarily a special teamer in his first couple of years, missing the entire 2021 season due to injury.

Jennings had a surgence, though, in 2023. He had 66 total tackles that year and 78 total tackles in 2024, emerging as one of the game’s top run defenders over that stretch. PFF graded Jennings as its fifth-best edge player at stopping the run out of 114 players in 2023.

Jennings could see some more playing time on Sunday as well. Veteran edge rusher Harold Landry III has been ruled out with a knee injury, leaving some snaps open at edge rusher for Sunday’s title tilt.