Mike Vrabel Explains Why Patriots Didn't Trade for Micah Parsons

The NFL was hit with a seismic blockbuster trade just a week away from the kickoff of the 2025 NFL season in the form of the Dallas Cowboys sending Micah Parsons over to the Green Bay Packers; an unexpected ending to a long-winded contract dispute that engulfed the latter half of the offseason, and now ends with Parsons finding a new home in the NFC.

When it came to any trade that was to involve Parsons, a handful of teams were seen as a pretty ideal place to send the All-Pro pass rusher outside of Green Bay that may have provided a complementary trade fit for the then-Cowboys defender, one of those names being the New England Patriots.

They have the cap space, draft capital, and need for pass-rush that makes a deal for Parsons pretty appealing on paper, and led to some initial speculation of whether New England would call Dallas for the chance of striking a trade.

However, according to head coach Mike Vrabel, the Patriots seemingly didn't invest too much time or effort into trying to hash out a trade for Parsons.

"We continue to have conversations about all players that are available," Vrabel said in a recent interview on The Greg Hill Show. "Great player. But that wasn't something that we really invested a lot of time or resources in. I think when you try and look at what we feel like is best for us right now, that wasn't entertaining that specific transaction."

Parsons would ultimately head to Green Bay in exchange for two first-rounders and a veteran defensive lineman in Kenny Clark; all things considered, a pretty cheap price for a perennial All-Pro defender.

But even with that price tag, rather than making an aggressive blockbuster move, Vrabel wants to take a different approach to building his new roster.

"Yeah... maybe bargain price; I think we just have to be very smart on building this thing, and I hope that everybody else sees it the same way outside of here," said Vrabel. "We want to bring in the players that [we] feel like give us the best chance. But also, we have to build some depth here to this roster, and you do that through the draft. It hasn't been; we'll call it what it is –– it hasn't been real great. The depth of the roster has not been through our draft the last handful of years, and that has to change. We all know that. We'll focus on that when we get there in April."

Aug 21, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New England Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel looks on during the first half against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

"Right now, it's putting guys in roles that have some versatility and building the game-day roster and these different things. I think the best teams in the league draft well, they develop their players, they re-sign them, and then they carefully choose the players they want to add in free agency."

The idea of Parsons in New England does present a ton of appeal. He's one of the best defenders in the NFL, he's only 26 years old, still with room to grow, and with pen to paper on a fresh contract, wherever he would've been dealt had him in-house for the long haul.

However, the Patriots ultimately opted to bow out of those talks, and instead, Vrabel and Co. will focus on building from the ground up.

"While Micah Parsons is a great player, it probably wasn't the best fit or right time, I think, for us."

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