Brown’s brief stay with Patriots over
After another accusation, champs cut ties with WR
Antonio Brown was released by the Patriots on Friday after a second woman accused him of sexual misconduct. The Patriots are the third team in seven months to tire of the off-field behavior that has overshadowed his accomplishments as one of the NFL’s most prolific receivers for a decade.
The defending Super Bowl champions announced the move in a statement emailed to reporters, three minutes after Brown posted on Twitter: “Thank you for the opportunity (at)Patriots (hash) GoWinIt.”
Brown has been accused of rape in a lawsuit by a former trainer. He also faces allegations that he exposed himself to an artist he hired to paint a mural at his home. Brown has denied the accusations.
In the email attributed to “a Patriots spokesperson,” the team said: “We appreciate the hard work of many people over the past 11 days, but we feel that it is best to move in a different direction at this time.”
Earlier this week, Nike cut ties with the receiver, saying in an email, “Antonio Brown is not a Nike athlete.”
A four-time All-Pro who caught 837 passes over nine seasons with the Steelers, Brown wore out his welcome in Pittsburgh after he went missing for two days before the 2018 season finale. The Steelers traded him to the Raiders, who signed him to a contract that would have paid him up to $50 million over the next three seasons.
But he never played a game for the Raiders, quarreling with the coach and general manager until they, too, released him. The Patriots signed him only a few hours later, giving him a one-year deal that would have guaranteed him $9 million and paid him up to $15 million this season.
Newton won’t play: The Panthers will be counting on second-year quarterback Kyle Allen to help them climb out of an 0-2 hole to start the season.
Allen was named the Panthers starter for Sunday’s road game against the Cardinals after Cam Newton was ruled out with a mid-foot sprain. It will be the second career start for Allen, an Arizona native.
“He worked through a lot of the soreness this week and felt pretty good at the end of the week,” Rivera said. “The one thing we don’t want to do is have another setback. “So we want to make sure he is ready to roll and his foot can handle it.”
Rivera said Newton will not travel with the team to Arizona but will instead remain behind in Charlotte to receive treatment.
The coach said Newton is “day to day,” leaving his status unclear for Week 4.
The former league MVP aggravated his left foot during the Panthers’ 20-14 loss to the Buccaneers on Sept. 12 and hasn’t practiced since. It will be only the sixth career game he has missed due to injury.
Extra points: All-Pro LB Darius Leonard will miss the Colts’ game against the Falcons on Sunday due to a concussion . ... The Browns placed TE David Njoku on IR with a wrist injury . ... Barron Hilton, the heir to a hotel fortune who was one of the founders of the American Football League and the original owner of the Chargers, died Thursday in Los Angeles. He was 91.