Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel was spotted on FaceTime with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady when the signal-caller and his wide receiver, Julian Edelman, attended a college basketball game last week.
Normally this would have been chalked up as just a conversation between friends, as Brady and Vrabel were teammates with the Pats for several years and are still close.
But what made this more interesting is that Brady is set to become a free agent this month and the Titans have been talked about as one of his potential destinations.
While we didn’t think a big deal should be made of it, the video and story exploded like most things that are even mildly interesting do in this day and age.
When appearing on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football” on Friday, Vrabel brushed off the FaceTime call as a moment between friends and nothing more.
“My relationship goes back to 2001 with Tom Brady,” Vrabel explained. “…those friendships aren’t going to stop or not continue to grow and develop now that I’m a head coach and he’s a quarterback with an expiring contract.”
As far as Brady going to the Titans is concerned, there are no doubt connections that make it possible, but until we see the future Hall of Fame quarterback sign on the dotted line, we can’t say for sure what will happen.
Vrabel also touched on Ryan Tannehill, Derrick Henry, and the “business of football” as it pertains to free agency and putting together a roster.
“You mentioned both Derrick and Ryan. Those two players were a large part of our success and they helped us get to where we were. It wasn’t good enough,” Vrabel said. “But we always recognize those players that have helped us get to where we are, and obviously, the business of football to me is that every day, Jon (Robinson) and I are trying to look for players that are younger and cheaper, and the players in those seats are doing everything they can to make sure that doesn’t happen. I recognize that that’s what the definition of business in football is to me. I recognized it in my career and obviously see it in the same sense as a head coach.”
Thankfully, the time for clarity on what the Titans will do is coming soon, as the legal tampering period begins on March 16, with players able to finally sign contracts officially on March 18.