Former Indianapolis Colts punter Pat McAfee has raised the possibility that troubled Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown will become a free agent and join the New England Patriots. This came after the Raiders bared their plan to suspend Brown following a tiff with general manager Mike Mayock.
In a tweet, McAfee said “Hate to say this, but im afraid this is how this all turns out. Raiders are gonna cut AB.. get their money back... then Bill Belichick is gonna swoope in and WHAMMY. @AB84’s a Patriot doing things the Patriot Way out of nowhere.” McAfee was not the only one thinking about Brown joining the Patriots.
NBC Boston senior NFL writer Albert Breer tweeted “Let’s check back when AB is MVP of the Super Bowl, playing for Belichick on the minimum.” Frank Isola of The Athletic, in a tweet, described “Antonio Brown’s plot to end up with the Patriots is pure genius.” On his Twitter account, Scott Stump of NBC News said Brown will bomb out on the Raiders just like Hall of Fame wide receiver Randy Moss did. Then, he'll sign with the Patriots, where he’ll have 38 TD catches the next season.
Patriots have history of taking troubled wideouts
The Patriots have a history of taking in veteran wide receivers with troubled histories. The Raiders traded Randy Moss to the Patriots for a fourth-round pick in 2007 and he made an immediate impact in New England, catching 23 touchdown passes in his first season.
However, they were also instances in which that move did not pay off. Reggie Wayne and Chad Johnson are among the best examples.
Before the Pittsburgh Steelers traded Brown to the Raiders in the offseason, the wide receiver’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, expressed interest in trading his client to the Patriots. As of now, the Patriots have Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon, Demaryius Thomas, Jakobi Meyers , Gunner Olszewski and special teamer Matthew Slater as wide receivers heading into Week 1, where they will face quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers.
If Brown joins the Patriots, he will give veteran quarterback Tom Brady another weapon on offense as the team goes for a seventh Super Bowl title.
Brown, Mayock got into heated exchange
Adam Schefter of ESPN reported that Brown and Mayock had an intense exchange after the team fined him $54000, for missing time during training camp.
Schefter said the Raiders are planning to suspend Brown, with the length to be determined. There is also a possibility that the Raiders may move on from Brown and the suspension is one way of trying to void the $30.125 million guaranteed in his contract. Brown recently posted on Instagram a letter from Mayock regarding his $54,000 fine, a move that reportedly caused the tiff. In an interview with reporters on Thursday, Mayock said Brown was not at the Raiders facility, but refused to confirm or deny the plan to suspend the trouble wideout.
