Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel did his best to kill the noise on the viral FaceTime call he had with Tom Brady last week.
Speculation flared up on Sunday while Brady and Julian Edelman were seen FaceTiming Vrabel during a college basketball game. Beginning with Brady and Edelman’s odd exchange about the 42 year old’s future, the night continued down a path of different theories.
With free agency opening on March 18, the reality of Brady’s departure is becoming more realistic and the Titans could be a place he lands. Ryan Tannehill and Marcus Mariota are pending free agents and Brady has numerous relationships in the organization. Although it’s possible Brady remains with the New England Patriots, he seems to be adamant on testing the market.
Making the NFL world wonder, was Vrabel tampering? He joined NFL Network’s ‘Good Morning Football’ on Friday morning and said it was just old friends talking.
“Well, it would be no different than a conversation you would have with your girlfriends on a weekend,” Vrabel said to GMFB’s Kim Jones. “My relationship goes back to 2001 with Tom Brady — training camp in Rhode Island, at Parente’s we’d go to practice and bunch of us would go out to the bar at Parente’s after practice and that’s where a lot of those friendships were made. Those friendships aren’t just going to stop or not continue to grow and develop now that I’m a head coach and he’s a quarterback with and expiring contract. Those are going to continue on well after we’re done playing with his family, with my family and having the ability to meet Jules and all those players — there’s a special bond that goes on in the locker room and that’s not going to stop.”
If Vrabel and the Titans are interested in luring in Brady, they have a huge advantage with the prior relationships. On the other hand, Brady’s future has become a daily guessing game, so this FaceTime call shouldn’t be taken too seriously.
But, the harsh reality is true that it’s very possible Brady lands outside of New England this season.
