Patriots rumors: The ‘long time’ Mike Vrabel factor behind A.J. Brown trade

The New England Patriots got their guy on June 1st. New England acquired A.J. Brown from Philadelphia, completing a courting process that took several months. One source revealed that one Patriots figure has been locked in on Brown a long time.

ESPN dove into the blockbuster June 1st trades that rocked the NFL landscape in a recent article. One source revealed that Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel has had his eye on Brown far before last week’s trade.

“[Brown’s] probably been in the head coach’s mind for a long time,” the source said, per ESPN. “Far before [the trade].”

The Patriots have long been interested in bringing in Brown, too. After all, the June 1st date of the eventual Brown trade was widely know back in March. This trade was a long time coming.

Still, Vrabel has an even longer history than that with Brown.

The pair were both key figures on the Tennessee Titans during the 2019-21 seasons. Vrabel was the team’s head coach and A.J. Brown the WR1 alongside an aging Julio Jones. Vrabel is on a short list of coaches who truly understand what Brown is about and how much he can change an offense.

Those early years of Brown’s career showed just how dangerous of a wide receiver he can be. Case in point, his worst season was 63 receptions for 869 receiving yards and five touchdowns in 2021. He pulled this off with only 13 games played.

Now the Patriots will welcome Brown as their starting wide receiver with the hope that it unlocks the entire offense. If Brown draws primary coverage, that should open things up for Romeo Doubs, Kayshon Boutte, and the rest of New England’s pass catchers.

It will be exciting to see what New England’s offense looks like with Brown later this fall.

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