Tom Brady appears to still not be over the Patriots releasing Antonio Brown and is ready to accept the wide receiver’s apology.
Most people involved in the NFL are probably happy that Antonio Brown and the circus that follows him is no longer in the league. But New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady isn’t one of them, and he made that clear on Friday.
Brown, who was cut after just one game with the Patriots back in September, posted on his Instagram page an apology for all the distractions he has caused this year. Those include allegations of sexual assault and sending threatening text messages to one of his accusers.
Brown found his way out of Oakland without ever putting on a Raiders uniform in the preseason, only to be picked up by the Patriots the same day the Raiders released him. He caught four passes for 56 yards and a touchdown in Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins. Five days later, though, the Patriots released him after his aforementioned text messages came to light.
Among those who liked his Instagram apology was his former teammate. Brown, along with Julian Edelman, was the closest thing Brady had to a receiving threat this season. Without him, Brady is having one of the worst years of his career while throwing to receivers like Jakoby Meyers and Mohamed Sanu. He ranks 21st in the league in passer rating and 29th in completion percentage. Brady is averaging just 6.7 yards per attempt, which would be his lowest since 2002.
The Patriots are 2-2 over the past four weeks, during which Brady is completing just 54.8 percent of his passes with five touchdowns. They were held to under 20 points in consecutive games for the first time in five years against Philadelphia and Dallas, and haven’t scored more than 27 points since Week 7, the team’s longest streak in a decade.
In a 28-22 loss to the Houston Texas on Sunday, where the Patriots fell behind 28-9 before scoring two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter, Brady was caught on camera yelling at his unproven receivers. The frustration is clearly growing for the 42-year-old quarterback as he prepares to finish his 20th season in the NFL.
The Patriots are still 10-2 on the season and currently hold the No. 2 seed in the AFC, thanks in large part to a defense that leads the league in fewest points allowed. For the first time in a long time, it’s Brady and the offense that is holding the team back and has the future Hall of Famer longer for the days when he had Brown, however short that time was.