The NFL trade deadline came and went on Tuesday, and Patriots fans were left with no moves to celebrate.
Despite varying levels of need at running back, receiver, pass rush, secondary and offensive line, the Patriots (7-2) held their ground, with the only roster move they made being the addition of practice squad receiver Brenden Rice - son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Jerry Rice.
For a team towards the top of a seemingly wide-open AFC, fans and media alike expected New England to be a buyer at the deadline. And after moving on from Keion White and Kyle Dugger ahead of Week 9, the front office was armed with 10 picks for the 2026 NFL Draft.
They had the ammo to do something, and there were plenty of talented pieces available. But the Patriots opted to roll with what they got, holding onto all that draft capital and forging ahead with a roster that conventional wisdom would tell you lacks depth across the board.
Mike Vrabel was asked on Wednesday if he and the front office were close on getting a deal done ahead of the deadline.
“I would say that deals are like being pregnant, you either are or you aren't,” said Vrabel. “It's either a deal or it's not, so I don't know how close you can be. I know that everyone worked hard, that we investigated, looked in, made phone calls and what personnel departments do. And in the end, we decided that this was what we were going to do and decided to move forward with our preparation.
“Tampa - excellent football team coming off a bye. A lot of really good veterans that have played at a high level for a lot of years and a really, really competitive quarterback who's never out of it. So, that's where our focus is. I know that there's a lot of action and a lot of talk. Again, it's kind of where we're at.”
If the season were to end today, the Patriots would be the No. 2 seed in the AFC. Only the Colts (7-2) sit in front of them, and that’s only by a tie-breaker due to winning percentage against conference opponents. With the way Indianapolis’ schedule shakes out the rest of the way, there’s a real opportunity for New England to grab the top-seed come playoffs, which comes accompanied with the lone bye in the conference.
It might only be year one of the Vrabel regime, but his team is ahead of schedule and the window of opportunity is now.
But when asked if he keeps the conference landscape in mind when approaching the deadline, Vrabel gave a somewhat surprising answer.
“No, I never really looked at it that way,” said Vrabel. “I think we're trying to build a program, the same thing that we said when we got here. I think that's part of the building a program. It’s finding ways to win, building a team and figuring out where the pieces are that we can continue to add when it makes sense.
“And so, I don't think anything - I don't think this is a negative. I don't think this is - this is just where we're at. I know they worked extremely hard to make calls and have conversations, and then in the end, we didn't do anything.”
At various points since being hired in New England, Vrabel has talked about keeping the long-term vision in mind with every decision they make while establishing a new culture at 1 Patriot Place. So with the team opting not to deal any of their 10 picks for next year’s draft while having obvious needs on the roster, you can understand why fans and media might have thought that future planning went into the decision to keep hoarding picks.
When presented with that premise on Wednesday, Vrabel pushed back.
“Mike, you've been really clear that the long-term vision for the program is what's most important here,” started Andrew Callahan of The Boston Herald.
“No - winning is the most important thing,” Vrabel interrupted. “Don't put words in my mouth. Winning is the most important thing.”
“When you guys were discussing how to handle the trade deadline, did the fact of how wide open the AFC currently looks like at all factor into the decision making?” Callahan responded.
“For us to sit here, think that anything is wide open and talk about playoffs, we're focusing on our 10th game in a row,” said Vrabel. “That's what we're focused on, is how do we get prepared on Wednesday? How do we get our bodies back? How do we get mentally prepared, physically prepared to go on the road to a place that is hard to play?
“That's where our focus is. It's not trying to predict the future of saying, “Well, it's wide open.” We're just going to keep focusing on what's in front of us, and that's what those conversations are about.”
New England’s lack of movement at the deadline had no impact on the betting odds for Week 10, as the Patriots remain a 2.5-point underdog for Week 10 in Tampa Bay. You can get them at +120 on the moneyline, and the total sits at 48.5.
Tune in each and every Monday throughout the football season to Patriots Monday on WEEI. Head coach Mike Vrabel joins The Greg Hill Show at 6:30 a.m. ET, and quarterback Drake Maye joins WEEI Afternoons.