FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Mike Vrabel had his eye on Corey Kiner ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft.
But the running back out of LSU ultimately went undrafted and ended up signing with the San Francisco 49ers' practice squad. His stint lasted until the middle of August that same year, when he was waived with an injury designation. The Minnesota Vikings signed him to the practice squad in September 2025, and then in December, he was signed to the Arizona Cardinals' active roster. That's where he remained until the end of this summer, when the New England Patriots traded for Kiner shortly before the roster cut deadline.
It was a call he didn't expect, but one he was happy to receive.
"I was a little shocked. I was happy, though," he told Patriots Wire in an one-on-one
conversation on Tuesday. "Just very happy that I was getting the opportunity to come be on a 53-man roster."
Roster cutdown day is one of the hardest in the NFL, but some teams, especially those at the bottom of the waiver wire, will look to trade with another team to acquire a player they had their eye on, in an effort to ensure they get them. That's what the Patriots did with Kiner.
"It meant a lot," he said. "Somebody believed in me, and being undrafted, not many people believed in me out of the gate. But Coach Vrabel talked about his interest pre-draft, and then he still had that interest post-draft after I had a couple different stints at different teams. And that speaks a lot to what he thinks about me, and then just me as a person, continuing to work and improve day by day."
He and Vrabel had talked over the phone a bit during the draft process, and just under a year and a half later, Kiner landed on his team. And he's excited to show what he can do.
"Very physical, tough, gritty. Not super flashy, just explosive and gritty," Kiner said of his game. "I'm a four-quarter player, so the same me that you get in the first quarter is the same me you get in the fourth quarter."
In addition to his phone conversations with Vrabel, Kiner has a few connections on the current roster. The running back overlapped with Will Campbell at LSU, with Kiner spending a lone season there in 2021. He was also teammates with Lorenz Metz at the University of Cincinnati, which is where he played prior to the Tigers, from 2022 to 2024. Plus, he trained with TreVeyon Henderson for the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine.
And then there's Rhamondre Stevenson who, even though the two never met, he's gotten to know him through social media.
"I've been a fan of his for a long time," Kiner said. "It's cool seeing those guys work, seeing the work that they've put in, and then coming in here and being welcomed by them and being able to work side by side with them is a blessing."
During the 2025 season, Kiner took part in just 30 offensive snaps, as well as six more on special teams. However, he saw a lot of action in the preseason with the Cardinals, where he recorded 30 offensive snaps and six more on special teams, finishing with 39 attempts for 180 yards and two touchdowns.
Follow Patriots Wire on Twitter and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: Corey Kiner's long road to New England started with Mike Vrabel
