When it comes to any player, having them buy into what a coach is selling is extraordinarily important. For the New England Patriots, there is no doubt that wide receiver A.J. Brown has bought all the way in on what Mike Vrabel is selling.
Brown was drafted by the Tennessee Titans back in 2019 when Mike Vrabel was their head coach. Almost right away, they developed a close relationship while Brown was quickly becoming one of the best receivers in the NFL. That is, until the Titans traded Brown, despite Vrabel’s disagreement with the move.
Now, Brown and Vrabel have seemingly been working toward a reunion since Vrabel took over the Patriots. There are even reports that Brown requested a trade as early as Week 4 in 2025, looking to land in New England.
In other words, Brown has bought in on Vrabel. That means the Patriots are getting the best possible version of him.
A.J. Brown Credits Mike Vrabel for NFL Success
GettyA.J. Brown and Mike Vrabel shake hands after a game in 2022.
Today, A.J. Brown is a three-time All-Pro wide receiver and a Super Bowl champion, who has finished with better than 1,000 receiving yards in six of seven NFL seasons. But it was never a foregone conclusion that he’d become that type of player.
Brown recently sat down with Maria Taylor. There, he credited Mike Vrabel with sculpting him into the player he became through his hard coaching.
“When I first got to Tennessee he was extremely tough on me, and I didn’t really understand what he was trying to do,” Brown said. “Obviously he was trying to push me to become the player I am today, but he was just so tough. I remember a conversation, I was talking to him, like, ‘You don’t have to humble me. I came from humble beginnings.’ I just never understood, he stayed on me all the time… He was holding me accountable, and we grew close over the years.”
Now that Vrabel and Brown are back together with the Patriots, there’s one directive. Vrabel wants him to go make plays.
“Get open and catch the ball,” Brown said. “That’s what he always says.”
Adam Schefter Recounted the Patriots Pursuit for A.J. Brown
GettyPhiladelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown
There were essentially two teams chasing A.J. Brown this offseason, the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams. However, as Adam Schefter explained on Get Up, once the Rams were out, it paved the way for Mike Vrabel to get a player he’s always wanted.
“To tie it all together,” Schefter said. “If we go back to the start of the offseason, the two teams that were most in on A.J. Brown were the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Rams… That left A.J. Brown to be traded to the New England Patriots. Mike Vrabel never wanted to trade A.J. Brown away in Tennessee. So, he gets back the wide receiver that he wanted and needed.”
On the other side of the trade, it became a win-win. The Eagles got cap space while Vrabel and the Patriots got an incredibly talented wide receiver.
“The Eagles get back two picks,” Schefter said. “But the hidden value of the deal is that it also frees up about $30 million for the Philadelphia Eagles… The Eagles also get to spend $30+ million and make trades like they did on the second night of the draft Jonathan Greenard, which wouldn’t have been possible if they didn’t know they were trading A.J. Brown.”
Now, the Patriots need to go out and prove Brown was worth those draft picks. They’ll get to work immediately, with Brown getting to practice the day after he was traded.
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