Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Trade Buzz: Mike Vrabel-A.J. Brown Reunion Ignited? | Message Sent?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Mike Vrable had a lot to say about his relationship with A.J. Brown, including what I took as a direct message to the wide receiver. This is Lockdown Patriots. You are Locked on Patriots, your daily New England Patriots podcast, part of the Locked on Podcasts Network, your team every day. What's happening? I am your host, Nick Cattles, born and raised in New England, been covering the Pats for the past 16 years. also the co-host of the Greg Bedard Patriots podcast with Nick Cattels and a sports radio veteran. Welcome to Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, now the number one sports podcast network, your team every day. On today's show, judging by Mike Vrable's comments at the Combine, his operation this offseason will be tested. In the second segment, the head coach gave a very telling quote regarding one of the Pat's youngest and most talented players.

Starting point is 00:01:05 First, the A.J. Brown train picked up plenty of steam in Indianapolis on Wednesday. The A.J. Brown smoke will not go away. And I don't think it's going to go away after this combine is done and buried. Mike Vrable spoke with reporters on Wednesday. And of course, he was asked about A.J. Brown and his relationship with the receiver. Here's what Vrable said, according to Phil Perry. Quote, our relationship has meant a lot. I've watched him grow. I've watched him mature. I'm proud of him. It's a two-way street of support and reminders of what got us here today, unquote. Obviously, a very impactful relationship between Vrable and Brown. We knew that. Karen Geregian, though, adds, of course, the goat from Mass Live, Brown and Vrable often text about life events.

Starting point is 00:02:03 So again, this is a very close, meaningful, respectful relationship. And we knew that and we understand that. But there's more. There's more to what Vrable said to the media. Doug Kide transcribing Vrable. Vrable was asked if the team might kick the tires on an A.J. Brown trade. And this answer to me, there was one word that stood out and we'll get to it in a couple minutes. but I found this answer interesting.

Starting point is 00:02:34 Quote, I think that we'll look at everything that we can possibly look at to add to our roster. So that's pretty much template, easy, peasy. We're going to try to do everything we can. Brable then said, and again, there's a lot of things that go into trades. Yes, there are. Then there was this piece at the end. There's a lot of back and forth in taking on compensation. All right.

Starting point is 00:02:57 So when you put all of that together, when you think about the relationship, between the head coach and the player, and they're texting each other about life events throughout the season, even though they're not with the same organization. And then you have Vrable saying, we're going to look at everything that we can. But of course, there's a lot of back and forth and taking on compensation. The translation to all of that is, yes, we are interested. Yes, we're interested. We're interested in A.J. Brown.

Starting point is 00:03:25 Now, the word that jumped out at me through all of those comments was comprehensive. When Vrable says there's a lot of back and forth and taking on compensation, yes, he's talking about the conversation, I'm sure, between himself and his own front office and his own ownership group. I'm sure he's also talking about the back and forth between the Patriots and, in this example, the Eagles and the conversation about money and the salary cap hit and all that stuff. So there's no doubt about that. But there's also the possibility here that Mike Vrable is sending a message to his friend, AJ Brown. And the message is, are you willing to play ball? When Vrable says there's a lot of back and forth and taking on compensation, to me,

Starting point is 00:04:23 I read that as, hey, man, there's a lot of back and forth. There are a lot of different things that go and. into a decision of trading for somebody, and one of the biggest decisions is compensation and how much you have to pay that player. There's a message in there to A.J. Brown. If you're willing to play ball, if you're willing to work on a new contract with us, we're open for business. That's how I would take it if I were Brown.

Starting point is 00:04:50 This could also be an easy attempt at a leverage play with Philadelphia, but Philadelphia has their own situation with Brown's compensation, as we know. It's like a $40 million cap hit before June 1st. It's like 20 million or whatever after June 1st. So the Eagles are also doing their own compensation salary cap hit dance with Brown. But to me, this is a message. This is a message from Brable. He knows what he's saying.

Starting point is 00:05:17 He knows why he said it. You don't have to bring up anything about the compensation. You can just say, yeah, we're going to try to look at everything that we can to possibly add to our roster. That's it. End of sentence. Done. Move on to the next question. But the fact that he says, you know, there's a lot of things that go into trades. There's a lot of back and forth and taking on compensation. He's mentioning the money for a reason. And he is mentioning it as part of the context to an A.J. Brown question of whether or not they're going to kick the tires. So to me, this is Vrabel saying, if we can make the money work and Brown's willing to make the money work, And the Eagles are willing to take that cap hit. We'll have that conversation. We'll have that phone call. We are interested.

Starting point is 00:06:06 Now, of course, there's a number of ifs there. But the relationship, the relationship to me means so much here. The relationship between Vrable and Brown, because that does give the Patriots an advantage over other teams. Because if you're another team, do you really trust Brown? Do you trust he's going to stay away from social media? Do you trust that when he goes to social media, he's going to post the right things? He had a post on social media this week, for example. There's a fantastic post about mental health.

Starting point is 00:06:41 Is he going to focus on those types of posts? Or is he going to run to his phone with both of his thumbs going bananas as he types about his frustration with his football team or his quarterback? And if you are Vrable, if you're the Patriots, that trust factor means something. The relationship means something. If Brown is going to Vrable about real life issues and real life problems and real life questions, then he's going to have no issue going to Vrable to talk about football stuff. I would imagine.

Starting point is 00:07:15 So the Patriots have an advantage when it comes to the other teams, that relationship between head coach and player. I think it lowers the risk of having that type of drama that Philadelphia has gone through the past couple of years. And I also wonder, because of that relationship, will Brown try to direct himself to New England? You can do that by back channel. There's no doubt.

Starting point is 00:07:42 You can back channel this week at the Combine. Brown's representation can make it very simple by letting other teams know that Brown wants to go to New England. So there's a lot of maneuvering that can go on. Much like the Patriots, I'm sure, are trying to maneuver with Stefan Diggs and in his contract and his legal situation. Those two guys are tied together. We've talked about it.

Starting point is 00:08:04 Brable mentioning compensation also ties into Diggs. You know, can you get both of those guys in the same room, not literally, but can you get them in the same room eventually, literally, but can you get them in the same room as far as money if you want both, are both willing to quote unquote play ball, ball. But the relationship that Vrable, you know, creates with so many of his players, I do believe there's a difference. There's a difference between Vrable and Nick Sariani. There's a difference between Vrable and a lot of other coaches that Brown might go play for

Starting point is 00:08:39 if he gets dealt. And by the way, Philadelphia is not helping quiet the noise. Speaking of Sariani, he was asked about Brown on Tuesday. And he said, quote, does he want to be here? yes. Do I want him to be here? Yes. Seems pretty straightforward, right? Not so much. When asked directly if Brown will be in Philly next year, Siriani's response was a little bit different. Quote, will AJ be here next season? I think we're still in a spot like I can't guarantee how anything is going to play out into next season. I'm thinking I'm going to be the coach next season, but you can't guarantee anything past tomorrow, unquote. few things I want to point out. Whenever you ask the question back to somebody, it means you're trying to create time to answer the question because you don't really know what the answer is unless you're

Starting point is 00:09:33 like, you know, five rooms away and you honestly don't hear them or you're on the phone and the connection goes wonky. When somebody's right in front of you and they ask you a question, when your first response, when your initial reaction is asking that question back to the person, it's because you're trying to buy time. So, you know, will AJ be here next season? Will AJ be here next season? Asking the question back to the writer. He also, Seriani also doesn't finish what kind of spot they're in.

Starting point is 00:10:05 He says, I think we're still in a spot and then stops himself with the uncomfortable like thrown in there. I think we're still in a spot like I can't guarantee. whoa, that's a jump. And then he adds the ridiculous note about himself. You know, I'm thinking I'm going to be the coach next season, but you can't guarantee anything past tomorrow. That's a simple deflection to the real question and issue.

Starting point is 00:10:33 Howie Roseman was asked, the GM of Philly, and he said, I think you go into the league year listening to offers for everything and anything. If someone is going to give you something you didn't anticipate and you won't even have the conversation, I don't think you're necessarily doing your job. Translation, the Eagles are open for business. The Patriots are open for business. Each side is playing the game right now. Do I think Vrable would say yes to A.J. Brown?

Starting point is 00:11:01 Yes, I do. Do I think the Eagles are willing to trade A.J. Brown, even before that, you know, designation that cuts the cap hit? I do if they get the right offer. this is the game that you play. The head coach shared some interesting intel about two young pets. That and more next. This is Lockdown Patriots, part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day.

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Starting point is 00:13:47 Five bucks a month. That's it. 50 bucks for the year. Pretty good deal if you ask me. Also, don't forget if you're watching on YouTube to like, comment, and subscribe.

Starting point is 00:13:57 I know this week it's been a little bit weird with Apple apparently. The shows have not been downloading as cleanly, but we're here at YouTube. So don't forget while you're watching us to click that thumbs up, that like, don't forget to throw a comment in as well. How do you feel?

Starting point is 00:14:14 about Mike Vrable's comments regarding A.J. Brown. Do you think we're closer to a possible Brown deal? And don't forget to subscribe. We have hit our goal of 9,000 subscribers thanks to every single one of you. The hard work continues as we want to grow this community. We get ready for free agency in less than a couple of weeks. We got the draft in late April. A lot happening. We did hit the 9,000 subscriber goal. Let's get to 10,000. That's the next one. Can we get to double digits. 10,000 subscribers. That would be quite the milestone. I appreciate every single one of you. All right. Let's talk about some other stuff. A.J. Brown was not the only topic that Vrable hit on during his meeting with the media at the combine. Mike Vrable also decided to not necessarily

Starting point is 00:15:05 quiet down the idea of moving Jared Wilson out of left guard. Brian Hines from CLNS posted Vrabel said the team had Jared Wilson continue preparing as a starting center throughout last season, would not make any guarantees about his position for next season as the focus is getting the best five up front. Interesting. So Vrable says that Wilson throughout 2025 continued to prepare as if he was going to be a starting center. Rable said the team had Wilson continue preparing as a starting center throughout last season. Now that would tell me that Pat's and their long-term intentions for Wilson would be to play him at center. You have Ben Brown who could be a backup center to Garrett Bradbury.

Starting point is 00:16:02 And of course, Brown could also be a backup left guard. but if you continue to roll out Wilson at practice and he's getting reps at center and he's at least preparing in his head not only to be the left guard but also hey just in case if you're going to start at center one day here you go this is what you got to do if if they're prepping him at that position then it tells me they're not completely sold on the idea of him being their left guard for the next five six seven 10 years if if you thought Wilson was your future at left guard, period, end of sentence, then you're not having him prepare to be a starting center.

Starting point is 00:16:43 That, that to me would not make sense. Now, when Vrable mentions the best five, that's the way it should be. Focus on getting your best five up front. And when we talked about moving Wilson back to center, his natural position, when we talked about that a week or two ago, we discussed this idea of having your best five and and why did Wilson play left guard last year? The Patriots apparently thought that Wilson was their best option at left guard, not Ben Brown, not any other guard that was in camp, not Caden Wallace.

Starting point is 00:17:19 So when you talk about the best five up front, that means to me we're going to have a competition. This is very open-ended with Wilson. I think the Patriots would love to move Wilson to center and have him compete at his natural position. but they're not going to be able to do that until they know who's going to be the left guard. You're not going to move away from Wilson as your roster is currently constituted because you think right now Wilson is your best guy at that position and that's why he started in 2025. So this is dependent on free agency.

Starting point is 00:17:54 And free agency has a number of different guards. We talked about Joel Betonio. There are other guys. There are options there. If the Patriots land a dependable starting veteran left guard, I honestly believe they'll move Wilson back to center. He will compete with Garrett Bradbury or they cut Bradbury. He'll compete with Ben Brown because they want to save the money on Bradbury's contract.

Starting point is 00:18:15 But I think in a perfect world, Bradbury's back. He's battling Wilson for the starting center position. Christian Gonzalez, his stock continues to rise. We mentioned how Elliot Wolf said he just continues to get better. there's absolutely no doubting his talent. But of course, with Vrable, culture matters and how you fit matters. And Andrew Callahan posted that Vrable said Gonzalez wants to be a captain. That matters.

Starting point is 00:18:45 Because if Gonzalez wants to be a captain, that means he wants to be a leader. He wants to be in that locker room, say the right things, do the right things, set an example and help carry the culture that they started to build in 25, help carry that into the future. And when you combine Vrable saying, oh, Gonzalez wants to be a captain, when you combine that with the comments late in the year, when Vrable said that Gonzalez was a different guy,

Starting point is 00:19:12 there was some kind of shift from Gonzalez. I think Vrable has started to truly believe in not only the player that Gonzalez is, but also the person. And when you have the ability to lead, and if you become a captain, if you have those types of intangibles and there's belief in the person and the talent, that's when you get a special kind of combination. That's what sold the Patriots on Drake May, this idea of not only does he have elite traits in some categories, what makes him tick. Who he is as a person is a big deal. And they loved it.

Starting point is 00:19:53 He checked all the boxes. One last comment I want to get to. The unrestricted free agents. You've got Caleban Chase on, Jalen Hawkins, Kyrie's Tonga, Vedarion Lowe, and others. And Vrable told the media, according to Andrew Callahan, that he would love to have all the internal free agents back. On Tonga, Chase on and Lowe,

Starting point is 00:20:16 Vrable said, according to Doug Kide, would love to have them all back, but we know that's not always the case in the National Football League, so we'll see where those conversations go. Translation, we'll bring them all back if the price is right. Jalen Hawkins apparently was not a part of that question. And I think when you look at it, most likely to least likely to return, I'd have Kyrie's Tonga at the top of the list because of his position,

Starting point is 00:20:44 because he'd been around the league a little bit. He didn't cost a lot of money last year. I don't think he'll cost you a ton this year. you know, him fading due to injuries late, I think helped the chances of the Patriots resigning him. I think Vedarian Lowe also. He's a backup left tackle. Now, does another team see him as a starter? I don't know if they do, then things can get a little crazy.

Starting point is 00:21:05 Jalen Hawkins. And then I would probably put Caleb on Chase on last because of the position, his age, former first round pick. But according to Vrable, he would love all those guys back. Is that going to happen? We'll have to see. coming up this offseason might be Vrable's biggest challenge yet this is lockdown Patriots part of the lockdown podcast network your team every day I wanted to experience the NBA finals live and in person Fandul is giving you the chance to turn that dream into reality with their NBA

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Starting point is 00:22:20 to win a trip to the NBA finals. We're talking to everything, flights, tickets, the whole experience, play your game with Fandul, the official sports betting partner of our friends at the NBA. Vrable has a huge challenge this offseason with this quick turnaround. We talked about it right after the Super Bowl, how quickly this calendar moves. And the fact is Vrable and his coaching staff, they just started their offseason prep. And Vrabel said, according to Andrew Callahan, you know, that the Patriots are still working through their plan for free agency. He said, quote, right now it's about gaining information from our scouting department and having our coaches look at it and then figuring out a few players at each position that may help us.

Starting point is 00:23:10 It's about gaining information right now, gathering that info. So we start here. Elliot Wolf, Ryan Cowden are so critical to this process, especially this offseason. I know some people want to give Mike Vrable all the credit, but the fact is a lot of this legwork, a lot of the work that's done is done throughout the football season. The coaches are coaching week to week. They're not worried about evaluating players from other teams unless they're playing those players that coming week.

Starting point is 00:23:45 They're certainly not too concerned about evaluating college players. players in the regular season, playoffs, or when you're preparing for a Super Bowl. So when you have this quick turnaround, Wolf and Cowden are critical to streamline that information, to get the coaching staff, to get Vrable, the information that is the most important, don't waste their time, get it done. Now, the vision is understood. Wolf and Cowden know what Vrable looks for in football players, which help, which will absolutely help the situation. The scouts, by the way, the scouts are huge.

Starting point is 00:24:23 We always pay attention to the guys that are doing the interviews at the combine and on the podcasts and all that stuff, but do not overlook the scouts. When Elliot Wolf sat down with Todd McShay for his podcast this week, he was asked about, you know, what was, what's one of the biggest failures you had? And Wolf said the following. Some of the biggest failures, as far as drafting players, have come when you don't listen to the scouts. whether it's you or maybe you and somebody else that's higher ranking, go away from the feet on the ground and what they've said about the guy. Like, hey, I don't trust the guy. He's not a football guy. They've been saying that, the Scouts Day. They've been saying that since December meetings. It came in their first report, September. And you think the talent can maybe outweigh some of the things that they said about him. That's been true since I got into it in 2004. I've seen it happen. We got to.

Starting point is 00:25:17 listen to the scouts. So the entire scouting department, the front office, Wolf Cowden eventually stretches as he immerses himself more into the front office at this time of year. You've got to trust the operation. You've got to trust the scouts. And the communication has to be great. All right. Let's talk about the draft here.

Starting point is 00:25:37 A couple of notes about the draft from Vrable. The Patriots continue to be honed in on defensive edge. Taylor Kyle's of CLNS posted. Vrable says the Patriots have met with multiple edge defenders and that this draft is deep at the position. Of course, we know the draft is deep at the position. We've talked about that multiple times. We'll continue to talk about that as we get closer to the draft and we start throwing more names out there. But interestingly enough, Cassius Howell and Zion Young both said they met with the paths.

Starting point is 00:26:10 So Cassius Howell is ranked 22nd in the Athletics Consensus Top 50. so whether or not he'll be there at 31, we'll see. Patriots fall in love with them. Maybe they trade up for Cassius Howell. As far as Zion Young, he's not listed in the consensus top 50. He is listed in Dame Bruegler's top 100, and Young is at number 39 overall, according to Dane Bruegler. So Zion Young seems to be the type of guy that you are much more likely to land. of course, this is pre-combine, much more likely to land at 31 than Cassius Howell.

Starting point is 00:26:52 These things can change, but it is an interesting note that both of those guys admitted they met with the Patriots. I would imagine the Pats are going to meet a ton of edges this week. And if the Pats don't draft one to two defensive ends, I think it's a huge missed opportunity because you've got to think long term. Harold Landry is going to be around for only so long, even if you keep chase on or you go out and you sign a free agent. A lot of those free agents, Adafé Owe, Moje Bafay, all those guys, right? All those guys are, you know, 26, 27. And, you know, how long are they going to be around? Boye Maffei turns 28 in November. You know, can you count on him beyond two years, three years? I don't know. You want a draft still. And Adafay Oway, he turns 20.

Starting point is 00:27:46 28 in December. So he's a month younger than Boy A. Maffay. So even if you go out there and you sign somebody, even if you keep Chaseon, Chason's a little bit younger than those guys. But, you know, even if you do that, I think it's just good business to, you know, draft. And by the way, Caleb on Chason turns 27 in July. It's just good business and smart business to draft at least one, if not two edges because it's a deep class. It's a talented class. And you can see. set yourself up at a premier position for the next six, seven, eight years if you play your cards right. Now, defensive end, not the only position Vrable discussed. Taylor Kyle's posted, Vrable says the volume at tight end stands out in this draft. We've talked about that tight end is kind of sneaky, sneaky deep. Now, not a lot of top tier blue chip guys. Kenyon Sadiq is really the only like blue chipper at tight end, but there are a number of guys at that position that are going to be drafted in the middle rounds especially, that could be starters for you eventually at that position.

Starting point is 00:28:50 Mike Reese also noted that Vrable said he needs to do a better job evaluating the tight end position. That's a fascinating comment. I think it reminds us of the importance of Thomas Brown, who is the passing game coordinator and tight ends coach. You need somebody at that position on the staff to be very good because Vrable admits that he's weak when evaluating tight end. It also tells us how important that veteran room was last year.

Starting point is 00:29:18 When you have two guys at that position who are over 30 years old and Hunter Henry and Austin Hooper, that is crucial. And I also wonder, you know, if you draft a tight end, how well can you develop that guy? I'm sure Hunter Henry's presence will help. But it's always interesting when somebody who is super confident and has an ego like Mike Vrable comes out and says, yeah, I'm not so good at this thing.

Starting point is 00:29:47 And he specifically mentioned evaluating tight ends. So if you draft the guy, you got to make sure that his support system is on point to make the most of that pick. That wraps up this edition of Lockdown Patriots. Thank you for making us your first listen and for being an everydayer. Reach out to me on Twitter at Nick C Radio.

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Locked On Patriots - Daily Podcast On The New England Patriots - Trade Buzz: Mike Vrabel-A.J. Brown Reunion Ignited? | Message Sent?

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