Patriots-Titans trade rumor shows how petty Tennessee might be

The Tennessee Titans had three players available at the trade deadline who could have helped the New England Patriots fill needs.

The Pats needed more help at wide receiver, edge rusher and running back, three positions the team was rumored to be exploring based on reports.

Meanwhile, Tennessee had logical trade candidates like edge rusher Arden Key, wide receiver Calvin Ridley and running back Tony Pollard, all of whom were rumored to possibly be available.

There could be multiple explanations why no trade occurred between the two teams.

Maybe the Titans were asking for too much. Maybe the Patriots really were not in the market to add to those positions. Maybe the Titans did not want to part with those players. Or, maybe the reason is much more petty.

According to Boston Sports Journal's Mike Giardi, there was a sense around the NFL that the Titans might not be willing to make a deal with the Patriots because Titans owner Amy Adams Strunk had no desire to help her former head coach.

Here's what Giardi said:

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. We'll find out soon enough with the likes of edge Arden Key, RB Tony Pollard, and even WR Calvin Ridley available. 

It would be unfathomable for Adams Strunk to take that stand considering she was the one who fired Vrabel in the first place. It's not like Vrabel quit on her, she wanted to cut ties with the head coach.

There is at least some smoke to this fire.

After the Pats-Titans Week 7 game that saw New England annihilate Tennessee, Adams Strunk and the Titans' ownership group did not so much as acknowledge Vrabel in the tunnel, even though they had a clear opportunity to do so.

"Amy Adams Strunk and the rest of the Titans ownership group just walked by Vrabel greeting his players out front of the locker room without so much as a nod. Icy," AtoZ Sports' Buck Reising reported on Oct. 19.

Assuming Giardi's rumor is true, this kind of petty behavior is one of many reasons why the Titans are a listless franchise.

If it is confirmed the rebuilding Titans didn't add much-needed draft capital for such a silly reason, it would be yet another stain on an ownership group that has plenty of them already.

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