Patriots HC Addresses Micah Parsons, Terry McLaurin Trades

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — While leading his team’s first scrimmage of 2025 may have been his primary focus on Friday, New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel was also quick to weigh in on the recent trade rumors which have already begun to engulf his club.

Vrabel, prior to leading the Pats into Gillette Stadium for an inter-squad exhibition, Vrabel was asked to weigh in on the high profile trade requests of Washington Commanders wide receiverTerry McLaurin and Dallas Cowboys edge rusher Micah Parsons.

To his credit, the new “HC of the NEP” remained professional in his response.

“I’m not going to comment on players that are under contract on other teams,” Vrabel said assertively. “Let’s focus on the ones that are here that we’re working with.

“We see all these things happen in the National Football League, whether it’s the offseason, whether it’s before the season starts,” he continued. “So, everybody’s working with different situations, so those respective players and respective teams will focus on their situations, and we’ll focus on ours.”

McLaurin, a six-year-veteran, has become one of the league’s most respected receivers. At 29 years old, he best football may arguably still be ahead of him. The Ohio State product has amassed 6,379 yards on 460 catches, 38 of which went for touchdowns in 97 career games with Washington. McLaurin was named a second-team All-Pro last season, while developing a strong relationship with quarterback Jayden Daniels. However, recent difficulties during contract negotiations have made him seek a trade from the Commanders.

Parsons is considered the best player at his position in the NFL. The 26-year-old has been named an All-Pro in each of his first three seasons with he Cowboys. Selected 12th overall by Dallas in the 2021 NFL draft, Parsons has compiled 256 tackles, 52.5 sacks, nine pass deflections and nine forced fumbles during his tenure. Though he missed four games in 2024, he still earned his fourth consecutive Pro Bowl nod.

Both McLaurin and Parsons would saddle their respective new teams with substantial cap hits for 2025 — McLaurin accounting for $25.5 million and Parsons earmarked for $24 million. However, it should be noted that the Patriots currently lead the league with $60.6 million remaining in cap space. In that vein, the Patriots could theoretically take on not only one, but both contracts — a situation Vrabel acknowledged on Friday.

“If something were to present itself that we would be able to do some things, so, right now we’re focused on the roster that we have,” Vrabel said. “I think we tried to be as close to the plan as we could, going through free agency and how we wanted to allocate it over the next two years, counting this year and next year when we look at the cap going out over two years.”

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