Mike Vrabel: ‘Trades are like being pregnant’

If Mike Vrabel thinks making NFL trades are like being pregnant, then Darren Mougey and the New York Jets must be expecting twins.

While speaking to reporters during his Wednesday press conference, Vrabel was asked whether the New England Patriots got close to making any moves before Tuesday’s 4pm trade deadline. And Vrabel responded with an analogy so unique that it had to make Colin Cowherd proud.

Mike Vrabel on the trade deadline: “Deals are like being pregnant. You either are or you’re not.” pic.twitter.com/mI6MM55ZVY

— Mark Daniels (@ByMarkDaniels) November 5, 2025

“Well, first I would say that deals are like being pregnant,” Vrabel said before proceeding to explain the analogy. “You either are or you aren’t. There’s no, like – it’s either a deal or it’s not, so I don’t know how close you can be. I know that everyone worked hard and that we investigated and looked in and made phone calls and did what personnel departments do. And in the end, we decided that this was what we were gonna do.”

This might be the weirdest trade analogy since Rachel Nichols said dealing second round picks in the NBA is like giving away singles at a strip club. But if second round picks are like dollars at a strip club and making a trade is like being pregnant, then working in a front office might be a stranger experience than anyone could have imagined.

The Patriots and Mike Vrabel did make two trades in the days leading up to the deadline, sending safety Kyle Dugger to the Pittsburgh Steelers and moving defensive end Keion White to the San Francisco 49ers. But on deadline day, things were quiet for the Patriots, especially compared to their AFC East counterpart New York Jets who must have been in their third trimester when they dealt Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams.