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Mike Vrabel credits this Patriots quarterback for starting his career as Tom Brady’s red-zone target
"I didn't want to sit at my locker if I got there early, so I wanted to do something."
Mike Vrabel earned his call to the Patriots Hall of Fame on Wednesday thanks to his role as one of the leaders of a stout Patriots defense during the 2000s.
But the linebacker also left his mark on three Super Bowl titles in Foxborough thanks to his contributions on the offensive side of the ball.
Even though Vrabel was at his best when rushing the quarterback and orchestrating turnovers, he also developed into a trusty red-zone threat for Tom Brady over the years.
Over his nine seasons in New England, Vrabel reeled in 10 catches. All 10 of them resulted in touchdowns.
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Bill Belichick has developed a knack for incorporating adaptable players into New England’s roster over the past decade, such as Marcus Jones.
But Vrabel’s development into an impromptu tight end was a role reversal born more out of boredom than anything else.
“I used to warm up with Drew [Bledsoe], just go out before the game, a couple hours before, goof around, run routes. I didn’t want to sit at my locker if I got there early, so I wanted to do something,” Vrabel said Thursday of the origins of his red-zone duties. “And I said, ‘Well, let’s go out and catch balls for the quarterback.’”
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“So I would mess around with Drew and then I think he might’ve said, ‘Hey,’ to Charlie [Weis], ‘This guy could probably actually do something,’ And it never materialized. Then I think maybe next year, they might’ve said, ‘Hey, give this a try. Learn the plays,’ My first touchdown was in San Diego, and we lost. So nobody really talked about it, and then it kind of just materialized from there. But probably Charlie Weis and Drew probably came up with the idea.”
Vrabel’s stout frame and dependable hands made him a tough cover in and around the end zone, with New England drawing up plays for the linebacker in critical junctures during postseason play.
Two of Vrabel’s 10 touchdown catches with New England came in Super Bowls, with Vrabel scoring in the Patriots’ victories over the Panthers (Super Bowl XXXVIII) and Eagles (Super Bowl XXXIX).
Unsurprisingly, those two scores en route to back-to-back titles stand at the top of Vrabel’s most memorable moments as a red-zone weapon.
“Probably the ones in the Super Bowl,” Vrabel said of his top receptions. “There was a back line one against the Jets that I don’t think we’ve ever thrown. It’s like the third progression in the goal line and I was like on the backside and never thought that I would even get the ball, and I turned around and it’s like, it’s already left his hand.
“I’m like, ‘Well, I guess he got to his third progression,’ because normally it’s just like one, two and then throw it away on the goal line. And I turned around and the ball was there, and I was like, ‘I don’t think I’ve ever caught that end line on the goal line.’
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“So those are the ones that stand out to me. But the Super Bowl one, where just everything’s a fog and blur and all of a sudden through a bunch of helmets and hands, Tom managed to find the football and get it through.”
Of course, Vrabel’s eventual induction into the Patriots Hall of Fame is centered more around his contributions on defense. During his 125 games in New England, Vrabel recorded 606 combined tackles, 55 tackles for loss, 48.0 sacks, 13 forced fumbles and 11 interceptions.
Vrabel, the 34th inductee into the team’s Hall of Fame, won a fan vote over fellow finalists Bill Parcells and Logan Mankins. This marked the sixth consecutive season that Vrabel was a finalist for the coveted red jacket.
Vrabel’s extended wait stands as a testament to the pipeline of talent present in New England over the years.
During Vrabel’s previous stints as a finalist, he lost out on the fan vote to other legends in Kevin Faulk, Raymond Clayborn, Matt Light, Rodney Harrison, Richard Seymour, and Vince Wilfork.
“It’s obviously special being part of a group that started in 2001 with the number of new players on that roster and kind of grow and build something that we all can be proud of and we all can fight for and want to be a part of it,” Vrabel said.” Obviously, was going to have to stand in line for a few years with the great players that were there – going up against a murderers’ row, I guess.
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“But I think it’s just something I don’t think I ever thought of when I went there. I can remember visiting there in 2001, and I would’ve never dreamt that something like this would happen.”
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