BLOOMINGTON, Minn. -- Rarely does Bill Belichick admit to a mistake, but he did on Wednesday.
The coach was asked about his history trading with Bengals owner and general manager Mike Brown, and within his answer he said how the Patriots were on the losing end of the 2011 trade which the Patriots sent a 2012 fifth-round pick and a 2013 sixth-round pick to Cincinnati for Chad Johnson.
"Being able to work something out with another organization for the right player and price, both organizations feel good about, and some of those have worked out, maybe a little better for one side or the other," Belichick said. "Certainly, Mike got the best of the Chad Johnson trade. Still waiting on payback for that one. That's coming."
He added: "[Brown] is a great man and his family is a great family. And they've done a ton for the game. A ton of respect for Mike, the organization, and all that they stand for and all that they've done for us."
Johnson spent one year in New England and caught 15 passes for 276 yards.