For the Patriots, the NFL trade deadline came and went with very little action, except for the giveaway of two veteran players–Keion White and Kyle Dugger–who just clearly didn’t fit the system under new coach Mike Vrabel.
That was surprising, given the fact that the Patriots moved quickly into the upper echelon of the AFC in the past two months, a move furthered by their upset road win over the Buccaneers on Sunday to move to 8-2. The Patriots certainly are in need of depth, and the trade deadline was the last chance to add NFL-quality players to help carry some weight over the second half of the year.
But, Vrabel said, nothing presented itself that the Patriots found all that attractive.
“It either gets done or it doesn’t,” Vrabel told “The Greg Hill Show” on WEEI on Monday. “Everybody in the personnel department worked and we tried to be diligent but we didn’t feel like just adding players to add players—there were conversations about different things and those things didn’t work out. Just decided that it wasn’t the right thing for us and that’s kind of where it was.”
Patriots-Titans Rumor Spread
The Patriots were a topic of conversation at and after the deadline, though, when it was reported by the Boston Sports Journal that the Titans–who are rebuilding and did some selling at the deadline–would not engage with the Patriots because owner Amy Adams Strunk still has a grudge against Vrabel going back to his time in Tennessee.
Because everyone loves a good axe-grinding, that storyline grabbed national headlines.
Vrabel was asked about it on Monday, and his response was blunt.
“I haven’t talked to Amy since the day she fired me,” Vrabel said. “So, her name and my name should not be in the same sentence together because I haven’t talked to her since the day she fired me.”
Still Uncertain Whether Mike Vrabel’s Presence Hindered Trades With Tennessee
Vrabel’s answer does reveal the reality that there is no love lost between the Patriots coach and the Titans owner. It does not, however, say that the report that the Titans wouldn’t deal with the Patriots was false.
It’s perfectly plausible, if not likely, that if Strunk is still bitter about the unraveling of Vrabel’s time with the Titans, and if she ordered her front office to not make trades with the Patriots, then of course Vrabel and Strunk would not talk.
Probably does not matter much now at this point, not with the Patriots at 8-2 and the Titans wallowing at 1-8.
Patriots, Mike Vrabel in Year 1
Still, the more likely situation is that the Patriots were just not all that eager to make moves as they shape their roster to fit Vrabel’s vision. Vrabel was asked whether the fact that it is still only Year 1 made him more reticent to make trades and give up future draft capital.
That could be troublesome, though, as injuries pile up for the Patriots.
“It is Year 1, we’re not gonna be able to change that,” he said. “We’re just trying to make good, sound decisions for the football team, for the players and for everybody involved. … I wouldn’t read into too much of that. I think it was just kind of how it went. And we’re gonna do everything we can each week to put our guys in a good position.”
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