Mike Vrabel has blunt response to Terry McLaurin, Micah Parsons trade rumors
"Everybody’s working with different situations, so those respective players and respective teams will focus on their situations, and we’ll focus on ours."
Two star players in the NFL requested trades within 24 hours of each other on Thursday and Friday.
Washington Commanders wideout Terry McLaurin reportedly made his request to leave Washington amid a contract dispute, with Cowboys All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons announcing a similar intention via social media the following day.
Just about every team in the NFL would relish the opportunity to add a dependable pass-catcher like McLaurin or an elite edge like Parsons (52.5 sacks in 63 career games), including the Patriots.
But on Friday, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel did not take the bait when it came to both McLaurin and Parsons and his team’s potential interest in acquiring them in the coming weeks.
“I’m not going to comment on players that are under contract on other teams. Let’s focus on the ones that are here, that we’re working with,” Vrabel said. “ I mean, we see all these things happen in the National Football League, whether it’s the offseason, whether it’s before the season starts. So, everybody’s working with different situations, so those respective players and respective teams will focus on their situations, and we’ll focus on ours.”
Vrabel’s comments are not surprising when it comes to questions revolving around personnel on other teams.
But the Patriots coach was later asked a follow-up question that centered on the resources available to New England if the team did decide to pursue either player.
Beyond New England’s evident desire to add more talent to their roster ahead of the 2025 season, the Patriots currently boast the most cap space of any team in the NFL at $59.9 million, per OverTheCap.
Many NFL teams would willingly give up premium draft capital for a player in his prime like Parsons (26 years old), but few clubs also have the same financial flexibility as New England — who can both acquire a player like Parsons and McLaurin and also sign them to the lucrative deals that they desire.
“If something were to present itself — we would be able to do some things. So right now, we’re focused on the roster that we have,” Vrabel said of New England’s cap space. “I think we tried to be as close to the plan as we could, going through free agency and how we wanted to allocate it over the next two years, counting this year and next year when we look at the cap going out over two years.”
As Vrabel looks to right the ship in New England and get the franchise back on track after two straight four-win seasons, acquiring one of McLaurin or Parsons would seemingly bolster the Patriots’ hopes of reestablishing themselves as a contender in short order.
But Vrabel brushed aside talk of urgency when it came to drawing immediate results from the 2025 season — even if that might mean giving up future assets to bring in a player like McLaurin or Parsons.
“We can talk about a million different things. Let’s just focus on — we should feel the urgency to win every day that we come to work. But let that be the focus of your question,” Vrabel said. “You guys are in a competitive field. Somebody breaks a scoop, or you got this story or that story. It’s the same thing. We should want to win every single day.
“In the National Football League, expectations are high, and they should be, rightfully so. So, we’re going to prepare a football team like that, and we’re going to try each and every week to put a plan in front of them that they believe in and that we believe is going to be the best way for us to win the game and then have the ability to, if that one isn’t any good, to adjust as quickly as possible.”
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