Browns & Seahawks Were Among Interested Teams In Antonio Brown Before Deal With Patriots

Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports that there was, in fact, a “robust market” for Antonio Brown following his release from the Raiders on Saturday. 

According to Mortensen, the Browns were among the interested teams in Brown. However, it became clear that yesterday that Brown signing with the Patriots was a “fait accompli.” 

Mortensen adds that the Seahawks were another team with some interest in Brown, given that he had worked out with QB Russell Wilson.

Interestingly enough, the Patriots reportedly offered the Steelers a first-round pick for Brown during the offseason, but Pittsburgh didn’t want to trade him to New England and instead accepted third- and fifth-round picks from the Raiders for Brown. 

As for the odd behavior from the past week, Mortensen reports that Brown sought advice from social media consultants on how he could accelerate his release from the Raiders.

Brown’s agent Drew Rosenhaus explained that he believes the Patriots will be a great fit for his embattled client.

“I’ll just tell you that the Patriots are obviously a very solid, strong organization,” Rosenhaus said via ESPN. “They do things the Patriots Way. They expect everyone to be accountable. They don’t make any exceptions. I’ve discussed this with Antonio. And he wants to be a Patriot. He’s prepared to go there, fit in, work hard, be like every other player on the team, do what’s asked of him, do his job and make it work. He’s honored with the opportunity and he’s looking forward to taking advantage of it.”

Brown is ineligible to play in Week 1, but could be ready for the Patriots’ Week 2 matchup with the Dolphins. 

Brown, 31, is a former sixth-round pick of the Steelers back in 2010. He was in the third year of his five-year, $72.71 million contract when the Steelers traded him to the Raiders back in March. 

The Raiders later signed Brown to a new contract worth $50.125 million and includes $30.125 million guaranteed. However, Oakland made the decision to release Brown on Saturday, making him an unrestricted free agent. 

In 2018, Brown appeared in 15 games for the Steelers and caught 104 passes for 1,297 yards and 15 touchdowns. Pro Football Focus had him rated as the No. 26 receiver out of 117 qualifying players.