As the New England Patriots have been rumored to be pursuing A.J. Brown for the longest, head coach Mike Vrabel has spoken about the rumors time and time again. While the rumors around the Patriots and Brown will likely continue, Vrabel's latest comments give insight into his thoughts on the speculation.
There's no denying that New England could use a top star wide receiver like Brown, especially after Stefon Diggs was released, with quarterback Drake Maye needing a top option. For Vrabel, he would say dodge the Brown talk, though he said that the team will “try to do everything we can to strengthen our roster.”
“We've talked about this since last January. We're going to try to do everything we can to strengthen our roster through the draft, through free agency, multiple ways of player acquisition,” Vrabel said, according to ESPN. “So anything that we can continue to do to strengthen the roster, we're going to try to do.”
Patriots look for top receiver after Stefon Diggs cut
With Diggs gone, this means that the Patriots have to look to fill the 85 catches for 1,013 yards and four touchdowns that the receiver gave to the team. While Brown would be an easy fit, as when healthy, recording 1,000 yards is easy, Vrabel would speak on how redistributing targets will be a process.
“It's literally about targets, the efficiency,” Vrabel said. “We all appreciate what Stef did, and I really loved being able to coach him — the efficiency in which he was able to catch the ball was impressive.”
“So, whether that's Drake's accuracy, ball location, or [Diggs] ability to catch it, that's something that we'll have to recreate. I'm not worried about the catches and the overall production. I think we can recreate that. We just have to be very mindful that the efficiency in which we throw and catch it is important,” Vrabel continued.
It remains to be seen if the Patriots end up going for Brown as the team looks to further improve after a great season of winning the AFC East and reaching the Super Bowl, though losing.
