What we know about Trent Brown’s late scratch on Sunday
On Friday afternoon, things seemed to be trending in the right direction for New England Patriots left tackle Trent Brown. After not practicing Wednesday or Thursday Brown was removed from the injury report on Friday, suggesting he’d be ready to play on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills.
That didn’t end up happening. The Patriots made Brown inactive on Sunday, with Vederian Lowe stepping in at left tackle against the Bills.
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After the game, ESPN’s Mike Reiss noted the team didn’t have a locker set up for Brown in Buffalo, indicating he may not have made the trip. Reiss added that in recent weeks the Patriots have had lockers set up on the road for players who were scratched late, like Matthew Slater and Hunter Henry last week. Reiss also alluded to Brown’s perceived last of effort at times in last week’s game.
Head coach Bill Belichick didn’t get seem eager to get into Brown’s absence after the game. When asked why Brown didn’t play, Belichick replied “We activated the players we wanted to play.” Asked why Brown wasn’t one of those players, Belichick responded “because we activated other players.”
On a question regarding whether or not Brown was benched for lack of effort, Belichick said “you’d have to talk to whoever gave that report,” referencing multiple reports throughout the week that Brown was disengaged.
There’s also the fact that Brown has been openly critical of the team in recent weeks. He questioned the team’s handling of rookie quarterback Malik Cunningham and the team’s handling of his expiring contract in conversations with Sophie Weller of A to Z Sports.
Whether Brown was benched by the team as a disciplinary measure, his illness flaring back up, or something else, it was costly. By not playing on Sunday Brown will not be able to hit any of the playing-time incentives in his contract this year, which are worth up to $6.5 million, according to Patriots salary cap expert Miguel Benzan. Brown, 30, received a pay bump of $2 million two weeks into this season.
In total Brown has played 11 games this year, starting eight. He had a strong first month of the season, when he was among PFF’s highest-graded tackles, but hasn’t been able to replicate that level of play consistently.
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