Inactive by Incentives? Patriots Trent Brown Financial Impact While Out vs. Bills

New England Patriots Trent Brown will be entering 2024 without the expected benefit of some financial bonus due to his inactive status vs. the Buffalo Bills in Week 17.

“Should all incentives be forgot, in the days of Auld Lang Syne?”

New England Patriots starting left tackle Trent Brown will not only be inactive for the team’s Week 17 matchup with the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium, he will also be missing out on some lucrative financial incentives for his New Year’s Eve status. 

With Brown being sidelined for Sunday’s matchup, he will miss the chance to earn a number of contract incentives, which total to approximately $6.5 million. According to Patriots salary cap expert Miguel Benzan, Brown will ne ineligible to earn the following 

$750,000 (by reaching 65 percent playtime)

$750,00 (by reaching 70 percent playtime)

$1 million  (by reaching 75 percent playtime)

$1 million (by reaching 80  percent playtime)

$1 million (by reaching 85 percent playtime)

$1 million (by reaching 90 percent playtime)

$750,000 (by reaching 95 percent playtime)

New England Patriots OT Trent Brown :: Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Having only played in 11 of New England’s 15 games leading into this New Year’s Eve matchup, Brown will not be able to reach 65 percent playing time for the season without suiting up in Week 17. 

Brown has struggled with both knee and ankle injuries, as well as illnesses throughout the season. He has also been one of the more outspoken critics of the Pats dismal 4-11 output in 2023 — thus calling his motivation into question. 

Just hours before Sunday’s opening kickoff, Brown revealed to A to Z Sports’ Sophie Weller — via an interview earlier in the week — that he was “seriously considering” testing the free agent waters at season’s end. 

"We already had that opportunity," Brown said. "We have had plenty of opportunities to get that done. I mean, I'm not opposed to it, but we are at the end of the season..."... It'd be kind of like, I feel like I'd be kind of doing myself a disservice to not see what other opportunities are out there, just at this point."

Earlier this month, Brown also seemed to question the manner in which rookie quarterback/receiver Malik Cunningham was being developed — with greater emphasis being placed on his skills as a receiver rather than a signal caller. Cunningham eventually signed with the Baltimore Ravens  53-man roster — a move which Brown praised as the rookie going to “flourish where your talent is respected.” 

Patriots Lineman Takes Shot At Team After Malik Departure?

While a correlation between Brown’s actions and the Pats decision to sit the 6-8 lineman for Week 17 cannot be proven, the timing of said decision is sufficiently coincidental to at least create questions in the collective minds of Patriots Nation. 

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