Patriots Make Deadline Decision on Trent Brown Contract

The New England Patriots' actions on Monday will likely determine if offensive tackle Trent Brown remains with the team.

Free agency is still a few weeks away, but the cogs of the NFL offseason wheel are already turning.

The New England Patriots, who are entering a new era under coach Jerod Mayo, are due to make their first big decision of the offseason soon. Specifically, the contract of offensive tackle Trent Brown will void at the end of the league business day on Monday, so unless the Patriots somehow sign him to an extension before then, he will take another step towards the open market. New England will also carry a dead cap hit of just over $2 million if they do not extend him.

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Frankly, though, Brown leaving New England for a second time seems inevitable considering how the season transpired. Not only did the 30-year-old struggle with injuries, but the Patriots benching him for the final two games of the season prevented him from earning a $6.5 million incentive.

In an interview with NESN last month, Brown spoke out about the tumultuous season he went through.

“It’s been a rough year,” Brown said. “This has been a year like no other that I’ve had in my NFL career as far as the amount of anonymous sources that have come forward to spew complete lies about my character. It’s been tough to even go in the building every day knowing that there’s somebody that I probably look at every day, or smiles in my face every day, that is running a smear campaign.”

Brown said he wouldn't be opposed to coming back to New England if the two sides can make amends, but in all likelihood, he will be playing elsewhere next season.

A 2015 seventh-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers, Brown first came to New England in 2018 via trade. He started every game and help the Patriots win Super Bowl LIII, their sixth and final one under Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, but left the following offseason to sign a lucrative deal with the Oakland Raiders. Brown then came back to New England via another trade in 2021, and has started 33 of the 37 games he's appeared in since then.

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Brown, who turns 31 in April, could have a host of suitors on the free agent market, in the likely event he leaves New England.

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