Trent Brown clearly has ticked off some New England Patriots players and coaches. But you'll struggle to find anyone saying anything bad about him publicly.

Brown was a healthy scratch for last Sunday's road loss to the Buffalo Bills. Multiple reports indicate the pending free agent has struggled to stay motivated amid a lost season and hasn't been willing to battle through injuries.

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Sophomore quarterback Bailey Zappe was asked about Brown during a Tuesday appearance on WEEI's "Jones & Mego" show. Zappe, like Matthew Slater, stood up for Brown amid controversy surrounding the veteran offensive tackle.

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"I mean, personally with me, he's always been great with me," Zappe said Tuesday. "I've never had an issue with him. I can't speak for anybody else. But for me, every time I've had a question -- asking him about guys that he's played with in the past, he's always been open to answering those questions. I've never really had a problem with him.

"Me and him are actually pretty close. We're both from Texas, we like being in Texas. So we have that as a similarity. So we get along well. We always talk about other things, and I've never had a problem with him personally. Of course, that's just my personal view."

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Zappe also revealed he found out Brown would be inactive sometime last Friday or Saturday. He added he heard the news through the "grapevine."

Bill Belichick on Wednesday said he expected Brown to practice and noted he wasn't on the injury report. Whether Brown will play in Sunday's home game against the New York Jets is anyone's guess, but it's entirely possible he's played his last snap in a Patriots uniform.

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Featured image via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images