Trent Brown Sends Curious Tweet Amid Patriots Speculation

We've reached the "cryptic tweet" segment of the Trent Brown-Patriots drama, which might not even be real drama.

The veteran offensive tackle generated headlines for all the wrong reasons over the course of spring practices. Brown reportedly participated in an "early" organized team activity practice but was a no-show thereafter. The absences led to speculation about a potential contract dispute ahead of this week's mandatory minicamp, the opener of which Brown missed due to a reported travel issue. He showed up for Tuesday's session -- which wound up being the minicamp finale -- but spent most of the day on the lower rehab/conditioning field.

So, where does that leave us? Honestly, your guess is as good as ours. But Brown's tweet from late Wednesday morning, when New England players reportedly were doing team-building exercises, surely will get people talking.

🤐

— Trent Brown (@Trent) June 14, 2023

That's it, that's the tweet -- as the kids say.

Brown, 30, has one year and $4 million left on his current contract. A trade involving Brown would net the Patriots $11 million in cap savings while leaving a $1.25 million dead cap hit, whereas a release would result in $8 million in cap savings and $4.25 million dead money.

No matter which way you slice it, Brown's contract makes it easy to envision New England moving on from the monstrous tackle before the start of the season.

There's just one problem: The Patriots kinda need him. Brown's durability and effort issues are well-documented, but he's by far the best option on the tackle depth chart. New England would be left with veterans Riley Reiff, Calvin Anderson and Conor McDermott, and youngsters Andrew Stueber and Sidy Sow.

So, Brown has all the leverage. Will that result in a contract extension or his second Patriots exit in four years? We'll just have to wait and find out.