Mike Vrabel Has Never Traded For A Big-Time Talent In Coaching Career

With all the rumors of the New England Patriots potentially taking a big-time stab at Las Vegas Raiders phenom Maxx Crosby (partially spearheaded by me), I decided to take a look back at head coach Mike Vrabel’s coaching career to figure out if he was accustomed to making trades.

Before arriving in New England, Vrabel had been the head coach for only one other team, the Tennessee Titans. He was hired in 2018 and made three playoff appearances in his six seasons with the team.

During those six seasons, he did not make one single high-leverage trade.

He barely made any trades at all, in fact. A majority of his transactions consisted of sending players away and receiving draft picks in return.

For instance, in 2022 he traded away now Super Bowl champion A.J. Brown to the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a first and fourth round draft pick.

The next season he sent two-time All-Pro safety Kevin Byard to the same team in exchange for young talent and even more draft picks.

His most notable move to bring a veteran to Tennessee came in 2021 when he traded a second and fourth round draft pick to the Atlanta Falcons for then 32-year-old wide receiver Julio Jones.

Jones played just 10 games in Tennessee, setting a new career-low in receiving yards and touchdowns.

Almost every trade Vrabel has made as a head coach has sent away players in exchange for draft picks. That trend continued in his first year as head coach of the Patriots.

Perhaps studying his past can provide new expectations for his offseaosn strategy in 2026.