Antonio Brown Sheds Light On Brief Patriots Tenure, Exit From Team

It sure sounds like Antonio Brown still is a bit salty with how things shook out in Foxboro.

The Patriots signed Brown the day before their 2019 season opener. The troubled wide receiver played his first and lone game with New England the following week, catching a touchdown pass in a win over the Miami Dolphins. But Brown’s days with the Patriots proved to be numbered, as he was released less than a week after his team debut. The 31-year-old, in total, lasted 11 days with New England and hasn’t been with another NFL team since.

Brown didn’t go into great length about his Patriots tenure during a recent appearance on HOT 97, but he did cast a claim about his former team.

“They didn’t want to see me get off. They didn’t want to see me be great,” Brown said. “They’d rather let me go than be great.”

Co-host Peter Rosenberg responded by asking Brown why Bill Belichick went out and signed the seven-time Pro Bowl selection if he didn’t want him on the team. Brown replied by noting his termination “was over his (Belichick’s) head.”

Brown continued: “I wanted them to need me there, man. Want and need are two different things, you know?”

The irony is, the Patriots probably did need Brown, arguably the game’s best wide receiver over the past decade. But as AB’s off-field issues piled up, he made it impossible for the organization to stand by him. Had Brown taken complete responsibility from the get-go, who knows, maybe he and Tom Brady could have formed a special connection.

But as Brown continues to spiral, it’s becoming increasingly unlikely he’ll play in an NFL game ever again.