There was this story going around that Antonio Brown acted up in Pittsburgh and Oakland as all part of a brilliant scheme to land in New England. If so, it didn't work out so well. The Patriots released Brown today, and it's fair to wonder if anyone will take a chance on him going forward.
Granted, Ian said the same thing when Oakland released him two weeks ago. It only takes one team. But other stuff has happened/come to light/been made public/whatever since then. The Patriots have decided he's not worth the trouble or money. Is another team really likely to feel differently? I seriously doubt it.
Apparently Brown was due a portion of that signing bonus if he was still on the roster on Monday. New England released him before having to pay that, and maybe there's going to be some sort of grievance. This is important to anyone who cares about Brown's or Robert Kraft's bank accounts, I guess. The rest of us can all must move on.
Fantasy-wise, the Patriots look like they did in Week 1: Julian Edelman, Josh Gordon and Phillip Dorsett are the main three wideouts, and in good matchups -- like this week against the Jets -- all three should be pretty good. Since Gordon has some off-field history and Edelman is elderly, Dorsett looks like the one who could pay off handsomely down the road (and may have been dropped in some leagues by people who believed Brown would be a perfect teammate and employee all year long in New England). Tonight's update will show where those wideouts fall in the rankings; Dorsett will make the biggest move.
So yeah, two weeks ago we speculated in this spot that Brown might not get signed by anyone, and his career would be over. Instead, New England signed him, and he was a critical element in helping the Patriots edge the Dolphins in his one game on the active roster. Perhaps that will get him a Super Bowl ring? Perhaps not.
I think this is probably it for him, though.
--Andy Richardson