The New England Patriots’ late-preseason trade for Corey Kiner looked like the type of roster move that comes together during a hectic cutdown weekend.
Mike Vrabel made it clear Monday morning that New England’s interest in the running back ran much deeper.
Appearing on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show,” Vrabel revealed that the Patriots had Kiner on their radar well before sending a 2028 seventh-round pick to Arizona, but the deal failed to come through.
“Somebody we liked last year and wanted to try to acquire last year,” Vrabel said, via ESPN’s Mike Reiss on X. “He went somewhere else. He had a really good preseason [39 carries, 180 yards, 2 TDs, 98 offensive snaps].”
Bumps first-round pick Caleb Lomu into the top swing tackle role.
Kiner was already a target for New England before the team’s 2026 running back competition reached its final stage, and his productive summer with Arizona gave the Patriots another reason to circle back.
Vrabel Says Patriots Wanted Kiner in 2025
Vrabel didn’t specify exactly when New England first tried to acquire Kiner. The timeline, however, shows the 24-year-old had several stops after going undrafted out of Cincinnati in 2025.
Kiner signed with the San Francisco 49ers as an undrafted free agent in April 2025. San Francisco waived him after training camp, and he joined the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad in September. The Arizona Cardinals then signed him to their active roster in December.
That journey gave Kiner a chance to play in the regular season. He appeared in four games for Arizona, rushing 12 times for 58 yards while adding two catches for 15 yards. His 4.8 yards per carry surfaced a small glimpse of the physical running style he showed in college.
Kiner finished his Cincinnati career with 2,562 rushing yards, including consecutive 1,000-yard seasons in 2023 and 2024. As a senior, he rushed for 1,153 yards and four touchdowns while forcing 80 missed tackles, which ranked fourth nationally, per Cincinnati’s official athletics site. He also earned second-team All-America recognition from Sports Info Solutions.
The Patriots ultimately watched him take the longer route to Foxborough, and Vrabel’s comments suggest Kiner remained on New England’s radar throughout that voyage.
Kiner’s Preseason Created Opening for Patriots
Kiner handed the Patriots fresh evidence of quality this summer.
Across four preseason games for Arizona, he carried 39 times for 180 yards and two touchdowns, averaging 4.6 yards per attempt. He also caught five passes for 28 yards. His production came as New England searched for a third back behind Rhamondre Stevenson and TreVeyon Henderson.
The Patriots acquired Kiner from the Cardinals on Saturday and released Hassan Haskins in the corresponding move. New England continued reworking the position one day later, releasing JaMycal Hasty, Lan Larison and rookie Jam Miller while setting its initial 53-man roster.
The point in time also helps explain why New England dealt a future pick instead of waiting for Kiner to reach waivers. The Patriots held the No. 31 waiver priority, meaning nearly the entire league would have had a chance to claim him first. A seventh-round pick in 2028 guaranteed the move, as The Boston Globe noted following the trade.
That left Kiner as the third running back on the initial roster behind Stevenson and Henderson. As the Patriots are a team searching for dependable depth before Week 1, the transaction gave Vrabel a player his staff knew and liked.
The move carried minimal cost when it happened, and Vrabel’s new comments make the reasoning behind it more significant.
All things considered, Kiner was a player the Patriots wanted earlier on, and after a productive preseason, New England finally found the opportunity to bring him in.
Patriots’ Mike Vrabel Reveals Failed Pursuit of 2-Time 1,000-Yard RB