New England Patriots: 5 Reasons Antonio Brown makes team Super Bowl lock
As if the New England Patriots weren’t already, signing Antonio Brown makes Bill Belichick’s team a lock to win Super Bowl 54. Here’s why.
After a tumultuous offseason and even more tempestuous week with the Oakland Raiders, Antonio Brown was released by the team that traded for him in March. And by the afternoon on Saturday, the wide receiver was signing a one-year deal with the New England Patriots.
Despite the melodramatic saga that has surrounded Brown this offseason, the Patriots are adding a top-tier wide receiver to an offense that recently received great news regarding the reinstatement of Josh Gordon. Now, the offense has the look of a unit that may be near impossible to stop in the 2019 season.
That’s a scary proposition for the NFL considering that New England is coming off of their sixth Super Bowl in the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era. They were already going to be compete for another Super Bowl this year before Saturday’s events too. But after signing Antonio Brown, you can put the Patriots down as a lock to play in and likely win the Big Game come Februray.
Let’s dive into why that’s the case.
5. Antonio Brown is worth the risk
The Patriots are getting a four-time First-Team All-Pro, seven-time Pro Bowler, a player with six consecutive seasons of 1,200 yards receiving or more (three with 1,499 yards or more) and a guy with 74 touchdowns in nine NFL seasons. Say what you will about Antonio Brown as a locker room presence or even a person but, on the field, his prowess is entirely undeniable. He’s a superstar wide receiver.
New England has never been shy about taking risks on players with character concerns when the talent is there, which this signing qualifies as. They obviously know all of the drama that Brown has caused this offseason with the Raiders. The Patriots just deem it worth the risk.
And when you consider what he brings to the field and how he can immediately slot into the New England’s offense and give that group a shot in the arm, it’s hard to see why they wouldn’t take that risk.