Don’t expect the Patriots to get into the tampering charge business for the second consecutive offseason.
As you probably recall, New England ahead of the 2019 season accused the Houston Texans of tampering when the franchise made an apparent run at Nick Caserio. While that matter was a legitimate one worth investigating, ESPN NFL insider Dan Graziano doesn’t believe the same applies to Brady’s recent conversation with Mike Vrabel.
The Titans head coach recently was spotted FaceTiming with Brady and Julian Edelman while the Patriots stars took in the North Carolina-Syracuse basketball game. Tennessee, of course, is expected to be one of the major players in the Brady sweepstakes, which can’t officially begin until March 16 when the league’s legal tampering period opens. Graziano, however, doesn’t believe the league will look into Brady’s conversation with Vrabel, nor does he believe the Patriots are inclined to take action.
“I don’t think it is something the league (will look into) because how are you going to regulate how people talk to their friends in the offseason?” Graziano said Monday on “Get Up.” “I think the issue would be if the Patriots made it one, right? We saw the Patriots do this last offseason when the Houston Texans tried to hire Nick Caserio as their general manager and the Patriots pushed back and said they were going to file a tampering charge. But I think in this case, it’s probably less likely. That was an exceptional case, this is something that happens to every team every free agency period. Everyone agrees that the tampering rules are kind of nebulous. I also think the key thing to keep in mind is the Patriots want Tom Brady back. If you start acting a certain way about a situation like this you could then alienate him and maybe that hurts your chances of getting him back. So I would be surprised if they made anything of it.”
Vrabel himself addressed what took place, noting the FaceTime conversation was just like any other talk among friends. So as much as the football world tries to make something out of nothing during this stage in the offseason, it sure sounds like this story doesn’t have any legs.
