FOXBOROUGH, MA – SEPTEMBER 11: Newly-signed New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown, wearing the number 1, makes his debut at New England Patriots practice at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, MA on Sep. 11, 2019. (Photo by Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
Antonio Brown will indeed make his Patriots debut on Sunday, as he will not land on the commissioner’s exempt list before then.
After signing Antonio Brown and then seeing a sexual assault lawsuit against him surface this week, the New England Patriots have been taking it day by day. He was finally issued a number by the team on Thursday, and ESPN’s Adam Schefter is among those reporting the mercurial wide receiver will not be placed on the commissioner’s exempt list before Sunday’s game against the Miami Dolphins.
There is no criminal investigation going against Brown right now, and his accuser is not scheduled to meet with the NFL until next week. Brown will also be interviewed, and presumably, put his denial of the allegations on record for the league. So the option of taking him off field this weekend seemed to trend away from happening as the week went on with everything so up in the air.
A separate question is how ready Brown will be to play on Sunday, particularly in terms of how much of the Patriots’ offense he has been able to learn in only a few days. So he could be rendered inactive on Sunday anyway, and it’s fair to say his snap count will be naturally limited in his Patriots’ debut.
Once the NFL completes its investigation into the allegations against Brown, quite possibly by this time next week or a point very soon after, his status will surely be revisited. It’s a slippery slope overall, as the league office struggles to get these things right.
For at least a week, Brown has avoided action from the league and a paid exile on the commissioner’s exempt list. But he’s not out of the woods yet, and time will tell how many games he plays for the Patriots this season.