Patriots were reportedly among teams who checked in on Micah Parsons

Patriots

Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel previously said that the cost to get Parsons was too much for the team to give up.

By Conor Roche

September 6, 2025 | 4:27 PM

2 minutes to read

The Patriots were at least a little bit interested in Micah Parsons before the Cowboys traded him to the Packers in August.

New England was among at least four other teams that called Dallas about Parsons once it found out the Cowboys were open to moving the star edge rusher, The Athletic‘s Dianna Russini reported Saturday. The Patriots, and other teams that called the Cowboys, were told they needed to offer at least two first-round picks and a “significant player,” Russini added.

The Cowboys’ asking price was ultimately met, with the Packers giving up two first-round picks and standout defensive lineman Kenny Clark for Parsons.

The Patriots also would’ve needed to negotiate a deal with Parsons that would’ve made him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Parsons ultimately signed a four-year, $188 million extension with $120 million guaranteed, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history by $6 million per year.

However, Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel made it sound like the trade ask caused the team to hesitate in making a serious pursuit for Parsons more than the financial ask. He said that it probably didn’t make sense for his team to trade that much away for one player, even though he likes Parsons as a player.

“Maybe [a] bargain price,” Vrabel told WEEI on why the Patriots didn’t trade for Parsons. “I think we just have to be very smart on how we build this thing, and I hope that everybody else sees it the same way outside of here. We want to bring in players that we feel like give us the best chance, but also we have to build some depth here to this roster, and to do that from the draft.

“We’ll call it what it is: It hasn’t been real great, the depth of the roster has not been through our draft the last handful of years, and that has to change,” Vrabel added. “We all know that, so we’ll focus on that when we get there in April.”

In terms of draft capital, the Patriots don’t own any Day 1 or Day 2 picks outside of their own for the foreseeable future. So, trading multiple first-round picks would’ve harmed them come draft time.

Still, trading for a player like Parsons might have been worth it. Now entering his fifth year, Parsons has arguably emerged as the best defensive player in football. He’s recorded at least 12 sacks in each of his first four seasons, consistently ranking among the best in the league in pressures and pass rush win rate.