Bitter reason NFL team refused to trade with the Patriots at the deadline

The Tennessee Titans are once again at the bottom of the NFL and were expected to have a fire sale at the trade deadline. But it appears there's one team they would not do business with under any circumstance.

Tennessee ended up only making one trade at the deadline - moving pass rusher Dre'Mont Jones to the Baltimore Ravens while holding onto defensive lineman Arden Key and wide receiver Calvin Ridley.

Incidentally, the New England Patriots were in need of both a pass rusher and a wideout. But after a messy divorce between the team and head coach Mike Vrabel, Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk appeared dead set on not doing any business with the team from Foxborough.

According to the Boston Sports Journal, Strunk didn't wand to agree to any trade with the Patriots while Vrabel was still on the sidelines following the sudden firing of the coach in 2023.

'I was also told there has been some conversation league-wide that Tennessee might be unwilling to make deals with New England because the owner, Amy Adams Strunk, continues to think too much about how things ended with Vrabel and is not inclined to help his new team,' Mike Giardi wrote.

Vrabel, a former Patriots player, was canned following back-to-back losing seasons in Nashville.

However, in his tenure with the Titans, he also made the playoffs in three straight seasons, won the AFC South division twice, and reached the AFC Championship Game in 2019.

But after going 6-11 in 2023, Vrabel was shown the door in a move that surprised many around the league.

It's been reported that Strunk took issue with many decisions Vrabel made with the team - but none more than when he attended his Patriots Hall of Fame ceremony while the Titans were on a bye in the 2023 season.

After Vrabel took that trip to be honored by the team with which he won three Super Bowls, Strunk reportedly 'let it fester'.

'This was Amy Adams Strunk making the decision based on a lot of things, including what happened when he went to New England for the Hall of Fame thing — including not dispelling rumors in house that he was going to be the Patriots coach,' NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said in January 2024.

After his firing, Vrabel did eventually join New England and has been leading a revolution with an upstart Patriots team that is 7-2 and back atop the AFC East. That includes a 31-13 victory over the Titans in Week 7.

Meanwhile, the Titans are 1-8, fired coach Brian Callahan mid-season, and are staring at the chance of drafting first-overall once again.