Trent Brown Rips Belichick, Patriots, New England: 'Foxboro Not a Vacation Spot!'
Soon-to-be-free-agent Trent Brown’s tenure as a member of the New England Patriots may very well be over, even if he isn’t the most prominent departure of the week.
While head coach Bill Belichick’s future hangs in the balance, Brown wasn’t shy about the mistakes his coach made. Credit is a two-way street, especially when Belichick boasts more control than perhaps any coach in football. The failures of New England are squarely on the coach who made virtually every call on the team-construction front.
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Speaking to NESN, Brown aired his issues about how the Patriots' roster was developed and maintained.
“There just needs to be more attention on signing and drafting good players,” Brown said. “And also understanding that Foxborough 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.”
New England’s biggest signing last season was receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. In 2023, he started seven games and finished with 29 catches, 260 yards, and one lone touchdown.
Receivers have been a blindspot for the Belichick regime, spending an assortment of valuable draft picks and lucrative contracts on targets that simply didn’t work out. However, Brown pointed to the trenches as an area of concern, especially with the development of quarterback Mac Jones in flux.
“I don’t think you can rebuild the quarterback and the O-line at the same time,” Brown said.
After losing offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels – and failing to adequately replace him – putting Jones in position to succeed was an arduous task. Belichick’s offensive line transactions may have worsened the situation.
“If you pay Ted Karras, who played a hell of a season at left guard before he left to go to Cincinnati, I think that solves an issue,” Brown said. “I think if you don’t trade Shaq Mason, who’s an All-Pro guard, that solves an issue. I don’t think it was necessary for those moves to be made. And then to not really replace them with guys of their caliber.”
Per Pro Football Focus, New England had the fourth-worst pass protection in 2023. The Patriots ranked 10th the season before Karras and Mason found new homes.
Belichick’s tenure has become increasingly tumultuous, and after an embarrassing season that left New England with the third pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, his potential departure is the talk of the league.
As for Brown, the Patriots – despite the unharmonious exit – may remain his home in 2024.
“I’m not opposed to it.”
