New England Patriots starting left tackle Trent Brown will miss the final two games of the team’s 2023 season. Brown was a late scratch last week after dealing with an illness, and on Friday’s injury report was ruled out the team’s regular season finale against the New York Jets on Sunday.
Brown has been dealing with multiple injuries all year. As a result, he’s missed five games so far (with the sixth coming on Sunday) and only played partially in five others. He hasn’t had a 100 percent usage rate since before Halloween. Each week his snap count has gone down, from 76 percent in Week 12 to 36 percent in his most recent game in Week 16.
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When locked in early in the season, Brown was one of the best defensive tackles in the NFL. As the team’s playoff chances faded and his injuries piled up though, it started to look like Brown was losing focus. Now, a new report form The Boston Herald seemingly confirms that notion.
The story, written by Andrew Callahan and Doug Kyed, details Brown’s approach starting in late October. “Brown had dealt with knee and ankle injuries in late October, and had his mind on free agency,” the story notes.
On top of that, Brown wasn’t afraid to let his long-term approach be known to his teammates. “After a surprising upset at Pittsburgh, Brown openly discussed plans to play for an NFC team in the team locker room,” the story adds.
For much of the later part of the season, there had been reports and rumors of Brown being ‘checked out’ on the season. This is the strongest evidence yet of that reality.
Dec 7, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; New England Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown (77) blocks against Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Nick Herbig (51) during the third quarter at Acrisure Stadium. Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
Brown himself also spoke to the Herald about the team’s handling of the offensive line coaching position. When Adrian Klemm – who was hired for the job this past offseason – took a medical leave of absence midway through the season the team turned to assistant offensive line coach Billy Yates, as well as veteran practice squad guard James Ferentz to lead the group along with Belichick taking on a bigger role with the offensive line. Brown noted how the approached changed at that time from Klemm’s program to one resembling that of retired offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, who was last with the team in 2019.
“I think that has to do a bit with people being set in their ways,” Brown told the Herald regarding the change. “I think Klemm brings more of a new-age (approach).”
That’s not the first time Brown has been openly critical of the Patriots this season. In interviews with Sophie Weller of A to Z Sports over the past month Brown questioned the team’s handling of his expiring contract, as well as the decision to not play UDFA quarterback Malik Cunningham.
For more on the Herald’s inside look at the Patriots’ season, check out our major takeaways here.
