Patriots' Tom Brady claims lack of control over team's Antonio Brown signing, quick release
Just weeks ago, Tom Brady publicly sounded excitement for the New England Patriots signing Antonio Brown. Now, the superstar quarterback is checking downfield and throwing the ball away on his support, tacit or otherwise, for the troubled wide receiver.
Speaking during his weekly radio appearance with Westwood One’s Jim Gray, it was Brady, evasive at times, who sought distance about his alleged endorsement of Brown. The Patriots cut Brown last week amidst an ongoing investigation alleging that the NFL star had committed multiple acts of rape. The tipping point appeared to be recent text messages, sent since Brown had signed with the Patriots in early September, whereby the player appeared to be threatening one of his accusers.
After Brown was signed, Brady talked about the possibilities of the offense with the addition of the All-Pro wide receiver, saying “We’re all excited to have him.” Brady also offered to let Brown stay in the guest quarters of his home to help him acclimate to the area. Perhaps it was a genuine offer of hospitality, or perhaps it was to keep an eye on the troubled star.
Reports also indicated that Brady was “a million percent in” on Brown and endorsed the free-agent signing to Patriots owner Robert Kraft and that he, along with head coach Bill Belichick, opposed the release of Brown after just one game played. Brown was signed to a one-year, $15 million contract by the Patriots that included a second-year option held by the team.
“I think there’s always reports and speculation about a lot of things that I have said or have not said or been a part of,” Brady said in his interview with Gray.
“The reality is [that] I don’t make any personnel decisions. I don’t decide to sign players, I don’t decide to trade them, I don’t decide to release them [and] I don’t decide to draft them – I don’t get asked. I just show up and do my job, I’m an employee like everyone else. I’m going to show up this week and do the best I can do as a quarterback.”
It is perhaps diplomatic cover from Brady, who undoubtedly wields a certain level of power with the Patriots organization. When the Patriots traded Jimmy Garoppolo in 2017, it was alleged that Brady was pulling the strings to get the backup quarterback out of Foxboro. If this is true, and the organization has denied this, it wouldn’t be a surprise then if Brady lobbied for the signing of Brown or endorsed the move.
Brady was obviously enthralled by the idea of adding Brown -- a four-time All-Pro selection who has twice led the NFL in receiving yards during his nine years in the league -- to the offense. With wide receiver Julian Edelman banged up, the Patriots head into a Week 4 matchup with the Buffalo Bills.
“Again, no one is going to be feeling sorry for the Patriots, nor should they,” Brady said. “I’ve got a job to do and I’m going to go out [there] and try to do it with whoever is out there and do it the best way I possibly can.”