The Patriots are known to experiment with players, and they have had their share of troublemakers. Think of Randy Moss, Aaron Hernandez, and Josh Gordon. These players were in no way an easy task to handle.
So when Antonio Brown, arguably one of the best wide receivers in the game today, became available, it made sense for the Patriots to jump on him.
The Patriots wide receiving core is one of the deepest in the NFL. This core included Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon and Demaryius Thomas (at the time). As it moves down the depth chart, the Patriots also had Phillip Dorsett, Jakobi Meyers (who had an incredible preseason), and Gunner Olszewski (who mostly focused on special teams), not to mention first-round pick N’Keal Harry who is spending his first few weeks on IR.
Combine this receiving core with a multi-dimensional backs core of James White, Rex Burkhead, Sony Michel, rookie Damien Harris, and James Develin, and you have a recipe for success.
Adding another piece to this core doesn’t seem necessary, one would think. However, with the tight end position being a major weak spot for the first four weeks, it makes sense to make another move on offense.
That’s where a possible Antonio Brown signing comes in.
Some may think, “why should the Patriots add another piece?” The answer: Antonio Brown was low-risk, high-reward.
This was before the Patriots were aware of the sexual assault allegations against Brown. Let me make this clear. If the Patriots had known about these allegations, they absolutely should not have signed him. However, because they were in the dark before the signing, it made sense.
The only issues that were perceived to be there were within the locker room. Most times, when a troubled player enters New England and buys into the “Patriot Way,” locker room issues can seemingly disappear. When they don’t, Bill Belichick sends them packing.
That is what happened with Brown; he didn’t buy-in, so he didn’t stay.
Brown’s contract also allowed the Patriots almost no financial issues in regards to possibly cutting him.
New England signed Brown to a one-year, $15 million contract. The contract included $9 million in guaranteed money.
However, part of his contract clause states that if his behavior is detrimental to the team, his money can be voided.
In the guarantee language in Antonio Brown's Patriots contract: If Brown "takes any action that materially undermines the public's respect for, or is materially critical of, the Club, the Player's teammates or the Club's ownership, coaches," etc., guarantees will "null and void." pic.twitter.com/BFdUfcuaXD
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) September 11, 2019
Because of the language in his contract, the Patriots were able to completely null his contract if he were to act out and cause them to cut him. Brown and his agent also did not disclose information to the Patriots that he would most likely be faced with a civil suit in the oncoming weeks based on sexual assault.
That was strike one.
The Patriots tried to defend their new shiny toy in Brown. They signed him, so they had to protect him. They did exactly that, and as Belichick deflected questions on Brown, the Patriots made sure Brown didn’t have to talk to reporters about the situation or even football, and teammates openly supported him.
Then the second allegation against Brown broke. That was strike two. But the Patriots still continued their support.
Then Brown threatened the second woman who accused him over text. And that was the last straw.
New tonight: Antonio Brown sent our source from Monday’s story menacing group text messages, including a picture of her children with instructions for his associates to investigate her.
Her lawyer wrote the NFL calling for the intimidation to stop. https://t.co/rCTM8WSI6Z pic.twitter.com/QtONzBf7Ig
— robertklemko (@RobertKlemko) September 20, 2019
Patriots owner Robert Kraft had reportedly had enough at this point, and that was when the release of Antonio Brown happened.
The release, not coming as a shock to most fans, meant almost nothing financially to the Patriots. They knew they could release him based on his contract clause.
However, now Brown is filing a grievance against the Patriots.
Antonio Brown is filing a grievance to get his $10 million guaranteed from @Patriots. The @NFLPA will represent him but personal misconduct that can void guarantees is in every contract across all professional sports. Question is: Can he win the grievance?
— Chris Mortensen (@mortreport) September 22, 2019
While this grievance will be annoying for the Patriots, one thing remains clear—it was good that they signed him. In the one game he played, Brown had four receptions on eight targets for 56 yards and a touchdown. If these allegations had not come out, think of how much damage he could have done as a Patriot. There is no doubt in my mind that defenses would fear when the Patriots offense stepped onto the field with Antonio Brown on the field.
But the thing is, defenses still fear the Patriots offense. Like I said earlier, Brown was an addition, he wasn’t the entire offense. If Brown was the only star receiver on the Patriots, they would be in trouble. But he was just a flower on the icing of the cake. The Patriots still have the icing.
So yes, it did make sense for the Patriots to sign Brown. Although it didn’t work out, they still took a chance on Brown, and they did benefit from him. But now it’s time to move on, which is a good thing for the Patriots. Putting the sexual assault allegations aside, Brown was a great acquisition. Low-risk, high-reward. But based on the allegations against him, it is clear that Brown had to go.
Jaclyn Galvin is a writer and Radio Personality for Prime Time Sports Talk and a sophomore at Emerson College in Boston, MA. You can connect with her on Twitter and Instagram @jaclyngalvin.
