NFL Trade Rumors
The New England Patriots are walking into the offseason with a whopping $123 million available in cap space. When talking to reporters at the NFL Combine, new HC Mike Vrabel said he is confident they will be “aggressive” in free agency.
“I’m confident that we’ll be aggressive,” Vrabel said, via Mike Reiss of ESPN. “We’ve started some of those discussions internally. We have to be ready to pivot and adjust and have a vision for each player at each level.”
Vrabel thinks they can offer free agents good compensation and an opportunity to play.
“There’s going to be this high level [financially] that things are going to get done very quickly. That will transition then to maybe some midrange dollars. And obviously you look at opportunity. Free agency gets broken down into compensation and opportunity. I feel like we’re in a position to offer both.”
Vrabel added he’s comfortable with overspending for the right player.
“I like to shop like everybody else,” Vrabel said. “So when you go and there’s only one of a certain car, maybe you have to pay a little bit more for that one car, because there’s only one of them. When you start to get into a range where you feel like players are comparable, and you like three to four players in a certain area for a certain role, you may not have to overspend. But it’s free agency. I think everyone overspends sometimes in free agency.”
Vrabel, 49, began his coaching career with Ohio State as their linebackers coach back in 2011 after a 14-year playing career as a linebacker with the Steelers, Patriots and Chiefs.
After several years with the Buckeyes, Vrabel was hired by the Texans as their linebackers coach in 2014 and wound up being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2017. The Titans hired Vrabel as their head coach back in 2018.
Tennessee opted to fire Vrabel last offseason. He spent the 2024 season as a personnel consultant with the Browns.
In six years with the Titans, Vrabel compiled a record of 52-41 with three playoff appearances and a 2-3 playoff record. He was also named the 2021 coach of the year.
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