Mike Vrabel throws cold water on Patriots possibly trading for Terry McLaurin

Training camp is well underway in Foxboro, and we can largely determine what the roster will now look like heading into Week 1. Of course, there could still be some surprises near the bottom of the roster, but we know who most of the starters and rotational players will be.

However, a few big-name players have recently become available. First, the Raiders shockingly cut Christian Wilkins, and considering Wilkins is a Massachusetts native, he was naturally linked to the Patriots. Then, this week, wide receiver Terry McLaurin and edge-rusher Micah Parsons formally requested trades from their respective teams.

Due to the Patriots having a ton of cap space and some obvious remaining holes, the team has been mentioned in rumors with all three of these players. However, when specifically asked about McLaurin, Mike Vrabel seemed to throw cold water on the idea.

“I’m not going to comment on players that are under contract on other teams. Let’s focus on the ones that are here that we’re working with,” said Vrabel. “I mean, we see all these things happen in the National Football League, whether it’s the offseason, whether it’s before the season starts. So everybody’s working with different situations. So those respective players, those respective teams will focus on their situations, and we’ll focus on ours.”

It’s understandable for Vrabel to take this stance, as you’d like to avoid any tampering issues. However, the coach made a solid point for why his team wouldn’t be interested in a big trade right before the season. The receiver room in Foxboro has also looked much improved this summer, so that could dissuade the team from going down the McLaurin route as well.

It is worth noting, however, that Vrabel was much more open to the idea of adding Wilkins when asked last week. Of course, that could be due to Wilkins not being under contract when Vrabel made said comments.