Antonio Brown’s tenure with the New England Patriots is off to a rocky start. Go figure.
Brown, who signed with the Patriots after being released by the Oakland Raiders last week, is one of the most controversial players in the NFL, and his reputation took another hit Tuesday when former trainer Britney Taylor filed a civil lawsuit accusing the All-Pro wide receiver of rape and sexual assault.
This sequence of events prompted one reader to ask NFL insider Jay Glazer: How many weeks do you give AB in New England?
Bill Belichick hasn’t said whether Brown will suit up for the Patriots in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins, but Glazer explained Friday that he already had questions about whether the 31-year-old would last the entire season in New England. After all, Brown didn’t appear in a single game for the Raiders after arriving in a trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers and subsequently signing a lucrative contract extension.
Here’s what Glazer wrote Friday in his mailbag for The Athletic regarding AB:
This has been about as bizarre of a start of a season for a player as I can ever remember.
We do not know what will happen in light of these allegations of rape and sexual assault, however before those even arose, I would probably have a hard time thinking he would make it through the season without any incidents, just because New England has a culture in place where they don’t tolerate anything outside of the Patriot Way. If you don’t play by the rules, they don’t care, they’ll sit you, they’ll trade you, they’ll cut you, they don’t care. They’ve traded away some of the best players they’ve ever had, the Randy Mosses, the Richard Seymours, because it’s their rules or you’re out. The Steelers…they just wanted to make sure AB got to the game every week. They did whatever they had to do to make sure he was playing. The Patriots, they play by a different set of rules.
It was somewhat surprising the Patriots took a chance on Brown following his unceremonious exit from the Raiders, even though New England reportedly showed interest in the seven-time Pro Bowl pick over the offseason before he landed in Oakland. They’ve been able to overcome controversy in the past, however, so perhaps Brown will walk the straight and narrow in his new home.
That said, there’s no telling what the NFL will find in its investigation into the lawsuit filed by Taylor. And, as Glazer mentioned, the Patriots really aren’t afraid to cut ties with anyone, let alone someone who’s causing a stir immediately upon arrival.
