FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — If Antonio Brown, Julian Edelman, and Josh Gordon can stay on the field for the entire season, it’s not hyperbole to suggest the trio of receivers could become one of the most prolific in NFL history.
With Brown in the fold and currently eligible to play, the ceiling is unbelievably high.
“I mean, the dude is an absolute stud,” Edelman said of his new teammate. “He’s a really good football player, and I think he raises the level for everyone out there because of how good of a player he is and how hard he works.”
Similarly, Gordon called Brown “one of the hardest-working guys in the league.”
“He’s come in every day and done the same thing,” Gordon said. “He’s lived up to the ‘great Antonio Brown’ name. He’s one of the best in the league, and I think you’d expect that from him to continue. I think he expects it from himself.”
Brown’s future remains somewhat uncertain, as a civil lawsuit was filed Tuesday alleging he sexually assaulted and raped his former personal trainer, Britney Taylor. The NFL is investigating the matter and will reportedly meet with Taylor next week. The allegations are not under investigation by law enforcement, as both the Allegheny County (Pa.) district attorney and the Miami-Dade state attorney’s office reviewed records and found no contact with police regarding the alleged assaults. At the moment, the league is not placing Brown on the commissioner’s exempt list, which means Brown is eligible to play.
So will the Patriots roll him out in Week 2?
“Well, we’re determining that,” Coach Bill Belichick said. “I’m not going to hand out a copy of the game plan here. We’ll do what we think is best for the team.”
And if Brown does indeed see action on Sunday, how ready will he be after practicing just three times in a Pats jersey?
Belichick said Brown “has a long way to go” before he’s fully adjusted to the offense.
“The systems that he’s been in have been quite different,” Belichick said. “(Raiders Coach) Jon (Gruden) does the West Coast offense, which there’s very little carryover from their system to our system. Not bad or good … it’s just not all going to carry over, and a similar thing in Pittsburgh. You know, he’s working hard to pick it up, and we’re working hard to get it to him.”
In the event Brown hasn’t fully grasped the offense, a strong likelihood given his limited practice time, the Patriots could script out a dozen or so plays designed specifically for him.
“Now as we get to Friday, Saturday, we’ll decide what things we feel comfortable with,” Belichick said. “We may eliminate some of the things that we’ve done and concentrate on a certain (personnel) group. Whether that’s five plays, 20 plays, I don’t know. We’ll have to decide that. But yeah, certainly you don’t want any new player, whether it be a tackle, a receiver, whatever the guy is, making a mistake, missing a block, making a route adjustment that’s not the right one and then turning the ball over or having a big play against you.”
As Gordon explained, picking up the Patriots offense can be a lengthy process. Gordon went through a similar transition last year when he arrived via trade in Week 3.
“It can definitely be tough,” Gordon said. “I know it was for me. Everybody gets it differently, sometimes faster, sometimes slower. It kind of just depends on how fast you can … adapt to everything – environment, offense, just the way of life. I think, as a professional, a lot of these guys know that’s part of the game and can embrace it and adjust quickly. That’s how you adapt to survive in this league.”
A 10-year veteran and one of the most accomplished receivers in league history, Brown should, in theory, be able to acclimate relatively quickly to the Patriots scheme.
Once he does, the Brown-Edelman-Gordon trio can begin to fulfill its immense potential.
“It’s pretty good,” Edelman said of the group. “But I don’t know. We haven’t played a game together. We’ll see against Miami.”
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