On Saturday, the Patriots took the football world by storm and signed free agent Antonio Brown, who was released by the Raiders earlier in the day after a ton of drama the last few weeks.
Appearing on WEEI's NFL Sunday, ESPN's Adam Schefter explained how it all went down.
"What happens here is New England is charting this whole thing. I mean, it would be naive to think that they weren't," he said. "Drew [Rosenhaus> has had a lot of Patriots clients over the years, including Rob Gronkowski. He knows how to reach the organization. He knows who to call. He knows when to call. He's talking to them. And there were other teams interested. There was another team that was making a major push for Antonio Brown and his services.
"But, the Patriots, obviously, hold a special lure. Like when your career seems like it is on fire, like Antonio Brown's was yesterday, there's one good place to go to try and restore it. And that would be in New England with Bill Belichick and with that offense. That is exactly what Antonio Brown decided to do, particularly with the money what it was — a one-year deal with $10 million guaranteed. So he gets a chance to be a factor in that offense and in that organization. What looked like would be a big loss for Antonio Brown, in the end he laughs last and it turns out to be a big win for him."
Schefter also said if everything goes well, there's a chance it could be for more than just one year.
"They view it as upside, very little downside," he said. "They needed another offensive weapon. They got arguably as productive of a receiver as there is in the game today. If he plays well and has a good season and there's no more incidents, which we'll see, then I am sure he's going to want to stay there and I am sure they are going to want him back. … Look, they are in the latter part of Tom Brady's career. They want to keep piling up as much history as they can. If you get a chance to get one of these guys, this type of player, you do that and that is exactly what the Patriots did."
Brown cannot play Sunday night, but will likely be on the field next Sunday in Miami.
