Tag: Antonio Brown Patriots

The Patriots Reportedly Tried to Trade for Antonio Brown (Update: Maybe Not)

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(UPDATE: The Internet can be a funny place. While I did say “reportedly” from the get-go when first posting this story, it seems as though – as of 1:40 p.m. on Monday afternoon – nobody can say for sure whether or not the Pats actually made this offer. I was using a third-party tweet which was reporting a quote from one of the NFL’s leading experts, Ian Rapoport, after he supposedly broke the news on NFL Network this morning. Apparently, though, he may have been misquoted. However, there are many sites which are still reporting this story as fact, so who knows? IF this is true, below are my two cents on the matter as well as what it could potentially mean for the Pats going forward):

I think we all owe Jon Gruden an apology.

After a nine-year absence from the NFL sidelines, he was hired last January to become the new head coach (and de facto G.M.) of the Oakland Raiders. At first, many people (myself included) scoffed at the idea. Even though he had a pretty successful 10-year run as a head coach in the late 90s/early 2000s – which included a Super Bowl victory with Tampa Bay in 2003 – most were skeptical that the 55-year-old cartoon character of an individual could be successful in today’s NFL.

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He was then eviscerated by the media for trading away one of the game’s best defenders in Khalil Mack just two months later (even though he got a pretty solid return). He also “reached” on an offensive tackle with his first draft pick in May, and things weren’t looking all that great for Gruden heading into last season…and honestly, they didn’t get much better.

BUT, even in the midst of suffering through what was a pretty miserable season in 2018, Gruden was able to trade away a young but maddeningly inconsistent wide receiver named Amari Cooper to Dallas for a first-round pick. Again, even though he received yet another first-round pick – giving Oakland THREE of them in 2019 – people still blamed him for not using Cooper correctly and giving away one of the game’s premiere young talents.

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While things certainly got better for him in Dallas, Cooper was an absolute roller-coaster ride out in Oakland.

Now, he has Antonio Brown, the game’s best receiver over the past half-decade. OH, and he only had to trade away a third- and fifth-round pick for him. So basically, Gruden traded away Amari Cooper, Khalil Mack, a third, and a fifth for the following:

  • Antonio Brown
  • Three first-round picks (2018 [1], 2019 [2])
  • A sixth-round pick in 2019
  • A third-round pick in 2020

That is absolutely ABSURD. There’s also rumors the team is gearing up to sign Le’Veon Bell as well. Things could start to turn around for the Raiders pretty quickly.

On the flip side, the Steelers are being ripped apart for getting so little in return for a guy who has been on a truly historic run over the past six years (six-straight seasons of at least 100 catches, 1,200 yards, and nine touchdowns). To be fair, A.B. pretty much had all the leverage in deciding where he would go by making a new contract mandatory from whichever team he went to. The Bills, the team he was reportedly traded to on Friday morning but then wasn’t just two hours later, weren’t willing to do that; the Raiders, though, saw no issue with it. Therefore, the Steelers had to take the best offer available.

However, today we were told that there was allegedly at least one team out there who was willing to offer even more:

IF this is actually true, then this says two things to me:

  1. The Patriots have been so good that other teams are now willing to hurt themselves and TAKE LESS just so the Pats can’t get better. (Truly unbelievable stuff.)
  2. The Pats really are still trying to bring in a top-flight receiver, and maybe (juuuust maybe) they are getting ready to spend some capital to bring in some more talent to play with Brady – as I predicted they might do in my piece about the 2019 free-agent wide-receiver class this past Friday.

All we do know is that the offseason is starting off with a bang so far, and the Pats could be a lot more involved than most people think. Also, the Steelers are SHOOK and were just pantsed by two different star players this year.

Get your popcorn ready, folks. These could be a fun next couple of months.

Ending the Antonio Brown Patriots Trade Rumors Before They Even Begin

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Antonio Brown will not be playing for the Patriots next season. Period.

I’m here to let all of you know this now so that you’re not sitting there all offseason like a desperate high-school kid who heard about his longtime crush “having issues” with the douchey jock nobody likes, leading to delusions of grandeur and heartbreaking false hope.

Again: Antonio Brown is not going to be traded to the Patriots this offseason. Start to let that sink in now so you don’t get caught up in all the “Antonio Brown to the Patriots rumors” that the media will surely try and shove down our throats in the coming months.

Look, there’s no doubt that the Pittsburgh Steelers do not have the happiest of locker rooms right now. It all started with the Le’Veon Bell contract drama, and it’s all but certain that he’ll be playing elsewhere next season. Various sources have also claimed there’s some long-time beef and ill-feelings between Ben Roethlisberger and head coach Mike Tomlin, not to mention smaller rifts amongst other players and personnel.

And now, Antonio Brown is at it again. He was benched on Sunday due to skipping practices and allegedly getting in a public argument with Roethlisberger at practice last week. (So, no, his absence against the Benglas wasn’t due to a supposed leg injury).

Then, on Tuesday, Jason La Canfora of NFL.com reported that the 30-year-old receiver wanted out of the Steel City:

Many, including La Canfora himself, believe it’s all a bunch of hot air and that it’s very unlikely the Steelers give into his demands. But, hey, when there’s smoke there’s fire, and this certainly isn’t the first time Brown – or any Steelers player, for that matter – has expressed extreme frustration with the team or its still-somehow-employed head coach.

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Seriously, this guy is not a good coach.

But, even if the team does end up trading the receiver, it absolutely will not be to the Pats. I’ll tell you why.

First and foremost, Brown has an astronomical $22.2 million cap hit (!!!) for next season. Seriously, that number is BONKERS, and there is ZERO chance the Pats would be willing to pay anywhere near that much for pretty much anyone ever, let alone a 30-plus-year-old wide out. (He also then has two more years of $18-million-plus cap hits before hitting free agency as a 34-year-old in 2022.)

(UPDATE: Due to various – and often confusing – NFL/roster rules, acquiring Brown might not require his new team to pay the full $22.2 mill, but his contract is still probably too expensive for the Patriots’ liking.)

Secondly, we still don’t yet know exactly which direction Belichick & Co. want to take the roster this offseason. After offloading Brandin Cooks last year and letting guys like Danny Amendola and Dion Lewis walk, it would be surprising to see the team once again try and load up by going after older, expensive, big-name targets to pair with Brady – even though he desperately needs them. As I said they needed to do last week, the team may start looking more toward the future sooner rather than later, and acquiring Brown would seem to counteract that effort. Plus, I’d much rather see them use the money to lock down a guy like Trey Flowers, who is a free agent this offseason, for the long term.

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Flowers is the future of the team’s D…if, of course, the team is actually willing to pay him.

Also, what happens if Brown comes here and Brady retires within the next 1-2 years? You think this guy would be content playing with anything less than a H.O.F.-level quarterback? No freakin’ way, man. No wayyyyy.

Finally, above all, I’m pretty sure the Steelers’ brass would rather hang themselves from the top of Heinz Field with a Terrible Towel before ever trading one of the game’s very best players to one of their biggest all-time rivals.  Unless the Pats were willing to give the Steelers their next half-decade’s worth of first-rounders and more, the Rooneys aren’t shipping him up here. Again: no freakin’ wayyyyy.

So, yes, while seeing A.B. in a Pats uniform would be a dream come true, I’ve already resigned myself to the fact that it’s just never going to happen – and you should, too. Sorry to break it to ya, Pats Nation.