Bill Belichick readily admits the Patriots aren’t an easy team to play for, and he’s not an easy coach to work for. New England demands more from its players than any other franchise.
One of those players is left tackle Trent Brown, who recently opened up on his difficult 2023 season in a wide-ranging interview with NESN.com.
Brown, who also offered a strong defense of quarterback Mac Jones, was asked what needs to happen for the Patriots to turn things around after a third losing season in four years. He pointed toward how the franchise builds its roster and treats the players on it.
“There just needs to be more attention on signing and drafting good players,” said Brown, who believes the Patriots mismanaged their offensive line after Jones’ rookie campaign. “And also understanding that Foxboro is not a vacation spot. You’ve gotta spend some money to get good players, and you’ve gotta spend money to keep your good players in-house. And once they’re in-house, you’ve gotta treat them with some respect and common decency as a human being.”
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Brown isn’t a fan of how the Patriots communicate scheduling details throughout a season.
“Other teams have schedules for the month, or some get the schedule for the year at the beginning of the season,” he said. “So, there’s just no reason why we don’t know our schedules until a day before. That’s just disrespectful to people’s finances and time as far as those with families.”
Brown used an example of not learning a bye-week schedule until the last minute.
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“If people have families and they want to go somewhere, flights are expensive, you know what I mean? Respect that,” he said.
Brown is set to hit free agency this offseason. Despite a trying season that included unflattering reports, he said he’s open to a return — under certain conditions.”
“I’m not opposed to it,” Brown said. “I think before that would take place, some things would need to be hashed out and understood.
He added: “Because I’ve even heard from coaches how they’ll sit in staff meetings and they’ll be talking about how they can f–k with me. Like, I guess trying to get me out of character or whatever. It’s really crazy to think that we’re spending time talking about that instead of getting better.”
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When asked to offer examples, Brown revealed he worked with the second-team offense after being asked to report to the voluntary offseason program.
“Why am I here? That makes no sense,” he said. “So, I left.”
Brown, who was late to mandatory minicamp in June, also was asked to report early for training camp.
“Of course, as a nine-year vet, that had me a little ticked off because you got me reporting with the rookies and I’m not injured,” Brown said.
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Brown’s remarks make it difficult to envision him re-signing New England in free agency. It might be best for him to get a fresh start elsewhere.
However, the Patriots’ inability to develop young tackles could force them to explore a reunion. Whether Brown truly would be open to returning to New England is anyone’s guess.
Featured image via Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports Images
