Patriots Tackle Trent Brown Goes Off On Report About Being ‘Late’

Trent Brown wants to share his side of the story.

The Patriots tackle missed New England's loss to the Indianapolis Colts due to injuries and what Bill Belichick called "personal" reasons. During NBC Sports Boston's pregame coverage of the Germany matchup, Sports Illustrated's Albert Breer confirmed the severity of Brown's injuries but added the 30-year-old is "habitually late" to meetings. Breer didn't say that Brown's alleged tardiness factored into his Week 10 status, but his claims nevertheless put Brown's professionalism under the spotlight.

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Moments after the Patriots lost to the Colts, Brown privately expressed issues with Breer's reporting in a conversation with NESN.com. But he went into greater detail Tuesday while speaking with Mark Daniels of MassLive.

"That's bulls--t," he told Daniels. "It's a bunch of bulls--t. I'm never late. Honestly. I'm one of the first ones in and one of the last ones out of the building. If I am late to any meetings or anything, it's because I'm a grown man and I should be allowed to go to the bathroom. Especially if it's in between meetings and I'm trying to (go to the bathroom) or if I'm trying to grab something from the training room to be healthier and prepare for practice. It's a lot of bulls--t."

Brown then sounded off on reporting surrounding the 2-8 Patriots and why he believed the information about his tardiness, true or not, was leaked.

"I'm sure you’re not really used to reporting about losing seasons around here, but that's the type of bulls--t rhetoric that comes to play," he told Daniels. "I don't think it's a coincidence that all season I've been the best player on offense and then when I'm not playing, that bulls--t starts happening. ...

"It's crazy. It seems like somewhat of a smear campaign, but whatever. I've literally never been late. I don't know what it is, but when I'm out there, I do my job and it's noticeable, and that's all I can control."

Brown also clarified his injuries and the personal matter that popped up before the Colts game. He told Daniels that his uncle died but that he wouldn't have played against Indy regardless due to injuries to both his knee and ankle.

"Ankle and my knee," he said. "The Buffalo game, third to last drive, I got rolled up on down on the goal line. That was ankle and knee, MCL. Early on in the Miami (game), I rolled it, again. I had a high and low ankle sprain. I'm pretty much still dealing with it, but it's getting better."

Brown was right in claiming he's been one of the Patriots' best players this season. Despite dealing with myriad injuries, the ninth-year pro currently ranks as Pro Football Focus' eighth-best tackle.

Brown practiced Tuesday, but his status for Sunday's road game against the New York Giants remained unclear as of Wednesday morning.