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Report: Mike Vrabel’s former team was ‘unwilling’ to trade with Patriots
Apparently, the Titans owner didn't want to do anything to help the Patriots.
The trade deadline has come and gone, and the Patriots did not make any splashy deals.
New England made calls and looked into deals, coach Mike Vrabel said, but ultimately decided to stand pat.
According to Boston Sports Journal’s Mike Giardi, there was one team in particular that wanted to avoid deals with the Patriots.
“I was also told there has been some conversation league-wide that Tennessee might be unwilling to make deals with New England,” Giardi wrote. “Because the owner, Amy Adams Strunk, continues to think too much about how things ended with Vrabel and is not inclined to help his new team.”
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Tennessee fired Vrabel after the 2023 season and the Ohio native wound up spending a year with the Cleveland Browns as a consultant before the Patriots hired him as head coach.
Vrabel captured the NFL Coach of the Year award and had a winning record during his six seasons with Tennessee, but a 6-11 season and friction with ownership brought his time there to an end.
“As the NFL continues to innovate and evolve, I believe the teams best positioned for sustained success will be those who empower an aligned and collaborative team across all football functions,” Strunk said in a statement at the time. “Last year, we began a shift in our approach to football leadership and made several changes to our personnel to advance that plan.”
“As I continued to assess the state of our team, I arrived at the conclusion that the team would also benefit from the fresh approach and perspective of a new coaching staff.”
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The Titans have since fired Vrabel’s replacement, Brian Callahan, who was canned days before the Patriots beat the Titans 31-13 in Nashville. Tennessee, which selected quarterback Cam Ward with the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft, is now 1-8 following a loss to the Chargers last Sunday.
Fox Sports’s Rachel Nichols called the Titans’ reported refusal to trade with the Patriots the “juiciest story of the NFL trade deadline.”
“You know I like to say there’s no petty like NBA petty, but this is close,” Nichols said.
Vrabel downplayed his return to Nashville, saying he would file it under things that are interesting, but not important. Drake Maye handed him a game ball after the blowout win. It was clear from the video the Patriots posted after the game that they enjoyed that victory.
The trade deadline is in the books, but according to the BSJ report the bad blood between Vrabel and Titans ownership lives on.
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