To say Trent Brown made the most of his one season in New England would be an understatement.
Brown was the Patriots’ starting left tackle for all 19 games last season. The 26-year-old shined as Tom Brady’s blind-side protector all the way through Super Bowl LIII, which paved the way for Brown to cash in on the open market.
The 6-foot-8, 380-pound offensive lineman wasn’t long for free agency, as the Oakland Raiders signed him to a record-breaking deal upon the turn of the new NFL year. Brown has yet to play a down with the Black and Silver, but Colin Cowherd already believes his contract is among the worst in sports.
During Monday’s edition of “The Herd” on FOX Sports 1, Cowherd ranked his top-10 current worst sports contracts, with Brown coming in at No. 8. Cowherd believes all you need to do is take a simple look at history to understand why the Raiders made a mistake throwing heaps of cash at Brown.
“Trent Brown. Highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history. I’m not sure he’s the Raiders’ best offensive lineman,” Cowherd said. “He is certainly not the best tackle in his own division. Thirty-seven million (dollars) guaranteed, four years, $66 million. Seventh-round draft pick, heaviest player in the NFL currently. Last year they started him and it worked for New England but it should be noted, every offensive lineman that leaves New England gets considerably worse.”
Cowherd’s theory checked out just one year ago. After seven seasons in New England, Nate Solder signed a free-agent deal with the New York Giants last offseason, which made the 2011 first-round pick the highest-paid offensive lineman at that time. Solder was largely unimpressive for a Giants team that went 5-11.
Similar expectations will surround Brown, who joins an Oakland team that posted a 4-12 record a campaign ago but made quite a bit of noise this offseason. The Raiders will be looking to restore both excitement and success, especially considering their impending move to Las Vegas.
Brown certainly has the skill set to live up to his lofty price tag, but it remains to be seen if he’s capable of doing so outside of the Patriots’ system.
