I almost can't even bring myself to type it, but here goes: Mike Vrabel was traded to the Chiefs for an undisclosed draft pick.

To say this move was unexpected is a drastic understatement. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm disappointed in the move, but I'm definitely very shocked. If you ranked each player on the roster in terms of "untouchability," Vrabel would likely fall right behind Brady, Moss (debatable given the age factor), Welker, Wilfork and Mayo (and maybe Meriweather, too). Anyway, let's try to make some sense out of all this.

The main line of thinking for the Pats was likely that Vrabel really started to show his age last season, and they could use the cap space for other potential moves. At 33, Vrabs recorded just 62 tackles, four sacks, one interception and one forced fumble in 2008-09. He was set to make $2.2 million from the Pats for the 2009-10 season with an expected cap hit of $4.3 million. Certainly more money than last year's production would have justified, but it doesn't seem unmanageable by any stretch of the imagination.

More important than his lack of production last year is everything Vrabel did in his eight years with the Pats. From 2001-2008, Vrabel racked up 604 tackles, 48 sacks, 11 picks and 14 forced fumbles. His best season came in 2007, when he had 77 tackles, 12.5 sacks and three forced fumbles and was named to the Pro Bowl. Most importantly, he was one of the cornerstones and only remaining members of the team that had been around for all three Super Bowl victories. From the Chiefs' perspective, this is a fantastic move. Pioli and co. give up a second rounder at best (more likely a third rounder) for veteran leadership and production that will be huge for a young, underachieving defense.

Regardless of our thoughts on the Vrabel deal, it's clear that this is just a smaller piece of a big-picture scheme (at least it better be). Subsequent moves will obviously involve Matt Cassel, and some of the early speculation has the Pats potentially matching up with the Panthers in a deal that would result in Julius Peppers coming to New England. While I'd welcome such a move (given Peppers can transition to OLB, and considering his athleticism, that's not so far-fetched), it seems very unlikely at this point.

It seems like they're gearing up for a much bigger move, but until that actually happens, it's tough to like what this move did to an already questionable defense. I hope this doesn't end up being a negative start to Nick Caserio's career as Patriots GM/Director of Player Personnel.

In other Pats news today, the team agreed to deals with RB Fred Taylor and TE Chris Baker, and they hosted CB Leigh Bodden. Jabar Gaffney signed with the Broncos.