Why Trent Brown’s Healthy Scratch Will Be Costly For Patriots Tackle

Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown’s inability to stay on the field this season cost him a pretty penny.

New England’s decision to make Brown a healthy scratch for Sunday’s Week 17 game against the Buffalo Bills guaranteed he will not earn any of the $6.5 million in playing-time incentives included in his contract.

Brown would have received a $500,000 bonus for playing 65% of the Patriots’ offensive snaps this season, plus additional bonuses at 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90% and 93%. The 30-year-old was at 61.7% entering Sunday, and sitting him against the Bills ensured he would not reach any of those benchmarks.

Even if Brown was active Sunday, he might not have hit 65% for the season. After starting seven of New England’s first eight games and playing at least 95% of snaps in each of them, he started just one of the next seven as he dealt with a litany of injuries and illnesses.

Brown has not played more than 76% of snaps in any game since Oct. 29. He came off the bench in three of his last four appearances, rotating first with Conor McDermott and then with Vederian Lowe after McDermott was placed on injured reserve.

The Patriots, who added $2 million in incentives to Brown’s contract in September, have “had trouble keeping (Brown) motivated over the final weeks of the season” once it became clear that he wouldn’t earn that money, according to a report from the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed.

As the season progressed, Brown became increasingly outspoken about team-related matters, including the narrative surrounding his injuries and the departure of popular rookie Malik Cunningham.

Brown is set to become a free agent when the NFL league year opens in March. He told A to Z Sports’ Sophie Weller he plans to test the market.