Eliot Wolf addresses two major rumors swirling around the Patriots

It's "silly season" in the NFL - a time when rumors dominate actual news in the headlines. As the first week of free agency wraps up there are two major rumors around the New England Patriots - one involving Las Vegas Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby and one about Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver A.J. Brown. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Patriots executive vice president of player personnel Eliot Wolf was asked about both.

The Patriots were rumored to be interested in Crosby, given their need at edge rusher and Crosby reportedly wanting to play for head coach Mike Vrabel. While other teams had significantly more draft capital available to offer with the Patriots sitting at the second-to-last pick in the first round, was there another reason the Pats weren't in contention?

Prior to Crosby's reported trade to the Baltimore Ravens (which later fell through), ESPN's Jeremy Fowler shared that a source told him "'no way Tom was sending Maxx to Vrabel." Brady and Vrabel have a relationship going back to their time as teammates with the Patriots.

On Thursday, Wolf addressed that rumor when asked. "I’d be surprised if that’s true," Wolf replied. "I have a really good relationship with John Spytek, the Raiders General Manager. We speak about a variety of things, and that's never been a thing."

Asked if the Patriots were ever in on trading for Crosby Wolf replied "we make a lot of exploratory calls, and I'll just leave it at that."

As far as reopening the conversations now that Crosby, who is under contract at a $35 million cap hit with $30 million guaranteed, is back with the Raiders? "I'd have to talk to [director of football research] Richard Miller about our [salary cap] numbers right now," Wolf said with a chuckle. "Again, we'll look into any player that we think can help us."

As for Brown, the Patriots have been maybe the most-talked about team in regards to a potential trade. At the same time the Eagles have reportedly been hesitant to trade Brown and asking for a significant price, in part because of the significant salary cap implications that come with moving Brown before June 1.

"We'll explore anything that we think can help the team," Wolf said when asked if the team will continue to pursue Brown. On any potential deadline for getting a deal done, he added "I think the only real deadlines you have are, sort of maybe salary cap related, If for instance - did we spend money in free agency that would take us out of something else? But, I wouldn't say that there's a deadline on trying to improve the team."

While the rumors will continue to swirl though, most of Thursday was focused on the additions the Patriots have already made. "We're all excited about the guys that we've added," Wolf said on Thursday. "We're excited about improving the team any way we can."