The New Orleans Saints worked out wide receiver Antonio Brown on Friday but did not sign him. His former employer, the New England Patriots, don't have much to say about that; at least their head coach, Bill Belichick, does not.
“Focused on Miami,” Belichick told reporters, via Henry McKenna of Patriots Wire. “Doesn’t really have anything to do with us.”
Antonio Brown played one game for the Patriots after the Oakland Raiders released him following a tumultuous stint (in which he did not play a game) with the team. In a drubbing of the Miami Dolphins, he tallied four receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown.
The Patriots and Bill Belichick released Brown on Sept. 20 after his former trainer, Britney Taylor, filed a sexual assault case, in which she alleged he sexually assaulted her in multiple instances. Shortly after, an artist that worked with Brown at his home in 2017 followed with another case.
The NFL has not placed Antonio Brown on the commissioner's exempt list. However, in September, they did hint at doing so if the 31-year-old free agent were to sign with a team. Subsequently, his interest league-wide had been at a minimum since. Despite his surreal skill set, teams have not risked bringing in Brown considering the allegations.
Brown, a four-time All-Pro, is perhaps one of the NFL's best receiving talents. However, his Twitter tyrants mixed with his erratic behavior in the eyes of the law has made him an untouchable figure in the NFL — even for the Patriots and Bill Belichick, who could use his talents.
We will see about the Saints, now that the Patriots are very much in the rear-view mirror on this story and a saga which has absorbed the NFL's attention in 2019. There is evidently more to say on this subject, but Bill Belichick won't be the one to say it.