Mike Vrabel
Mike Vrabel Although there has been no official word from either team reports are saying that the Kansas City Chiefs have acquired linebacker Mike Vrabel from the New England Patriots.

The move reunites Vrabel with Scott Pioli, who left his position as New England's Vice President of Player Personnel to take over Chiefs' personnel duties. As someone who knows him well, Pioli has clearly brought Vrabel in to provide some veteran leadership to the Chiefs locker room. Last season Kansas City was the youngest team in the NFL.

The 33-year old Vrabel, ends an eight-year career with the Patriots, which includes three Super Bowl titles and one Pro Bowl appearance.

A veteran of 12 NFL seasons, Vrabel signed with the Patriots as a free agent in 2001. He was entering
the last year of his current contract and was due to make $2.2 million in base salary, but count $4.3 million against the cap. It's possible his trade was done with an eye towards creating more cap space for the Patriots.

Vrabel spent the first four seasons of his career in Pittsburgh. The Steelers took him with their third pick in the 1997 draft. Vrabel spent most of his time in Pittsburgh as a back-up and even considered retirement before signing with the Patriots.

Upon moving to New England, Vrabel be came an extremely important piece of their defense. In his first season with the Patriots, he started 12 games at linebacker.

Although this move has some scratching their heads in New England, there has been speculation that this is only part of a bigger deal in New England. Only time will tell.