Video Chat with Vrabel Ramps Up Brady-to-Titans Talk

Tennessee coach, free-agent-to-be quarterback caught in conversation during college basketball game

NASHVILLE – If a picture is worth a thousand words, what about a video chat?

Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel was seen on the phone with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and wide receiver Julian Edelman while the latter two attended a basketball game at Syracuse University on Saturday.

A person seated nearby captured an eight-second video of the interaction during which Edelman holds the phone and at one point raises it to his ear to hear better. Brady, one seat away, looks to be engaged in the encounter as well (the third member of their party was late night TV talk show host Jimmy Fallon).

The moment added to speculation that Brady plans to sign with the Titans when the 2020 contract year begins (March 18). The quarterback who has won and played in more Super Bowls than any other is scheduled to become a free agent at the end of the current contract year and there have been multiple reports that he plans to explore his options outside of New England.

Vrabel was a linebacker with the Patriots and a teammate of Brady’s from 2001-08 during which the two became close friends. Edelman joined the Patriots in 2009 and has spent his entire 11-year career with that franchise.

The man who led the Titans to an appearance in the AFC Championship in his second season was asked about Brady last week during media availability at the NFL Scouting Combine and his first comment was “undefeated,” a reference to the fact that Tennessee defeated New England in the 2018 regular season and again in the 2019 postseason.

“Tom’s a teammate, a former teammate,” Vrabel said. “He’s a friend. He’ll always be a friend. I know, like a lot of people, he will do what’s best for him and for his family. Whatever that may be, I’m not sure.”