Tom Curran: “Tom went all-in trying to make it work. He got close to Brown and tried to understand and help him. I was told the practice performance of Brady when Brown was on the field was almost perfect. There were more than a half-dozen plays Brown made that were breathtaking. He was beyond anything Brady ever worked with. Brady was trying to help Brown stabilize. He disagrees with the business decision made by Robert Kraft to jettison Brown.”
New England Patriots insider Tom Curran wrote a column on Thursday that detailed the dismay Tom Brady felt when the Patriots organization released embattled wide receiver Antonio Brown just 13 days after they had made one of the most memorable signings in NFL history.
Curran says Patriots owner Robert Kraft ultimately intervened over a reluctant Bill Belichick and was the one who decided to cut ties with Brown. Curran says he can’t remember a time where Kraft ever interfered with Belichick’s decisions on personnel, but Brown’s PR nightmares had gotten too catastrophic.
The straw that appeared to break the camel’s back were Brown’s alleged ‘threatening texts’ to one of his accusers, that appeared to show Brown making menacing comments to the woman, demanding that his entourage investigate her, and even dropping pictures of the woman’s children on a group chat that included personal connections of his, including his lawyer, and the woman herself.
When news of the intimidating messages first dropped on September 20th, the Patriots would then cut Brown hours later.
Curran said Brady had raved over the chemistry between himself and Brown, and said Brown was the best wide receiver he ever worked with, adding that Brown’s movements on the field were ‘breathtaking’.
Curran says Brady ‘disagrees’ with the decision the franchise ultimately made.
In the only game Brown played for the Patriots, he caught 4 passes for 56 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown reception from Brady.
Fans had hoped Brady and Brown were going to make up the same type of legendary connection that Brady and Randy Moss made up from 2007-2010, as Moss once caught 23 touchdowns during a single season for a 16-0 2007 Patriots team.
Brown is 31 and has 11,263 receiving yards for his career.