Patriots trade for Brown in return for big, bruising OL
Offensive tackle won Super Bowl with team in 2018 season
The Patriots agreed to acquire Pro Bowl offensive tackle Trent Brown and a 2022 seventh-round pick for a 2022 fifth-rounder in a trade with the Raiders on Tuesday, a source told the Herald.
Brown will return to New England after winning a Super Bowl as the team’s starting left tackle in the 2018 season. Months later, he left to sign the richest freeagent deal ever for an offensive lineman, which had two years and $19.25 million remaining. Due to impending cap trouble, the Raiders made Brown available this offseason, and he has agreed to a new one-year deal worth up to $11 million as part of the trade, per ESPN.
The Patriots can afford Brown’s salary as one of the NFL’s leaders in 2021 cap space. They had been projected to hold more than $66 million in cap room at the start of free agency next week.
It’s unclear where the 6-foot-8, 380-pounder, who can play left and right tackle, will start next season. Brown could make veteran right tackle Marcus Cannon a cap casualty in the coming days. Releasing Cannon, who opted out of the 2020 season, would save the team $6.3 million in cap space.
Pats left tackle Isaiah Wynn could also be on the final season of his rookie deal, if the team doesn’t pick up his fifth-year option by May 3. Wynn has battled injuries throughout his young career, including a torn Achilles that wiped out his 2018 rookie campaign and opened the door for Brown to start. Brown’s return likely indicates the team will continue shuffling its offensive line.