The New England Patriots have made some major improvements to their terrible offensive line in the last few months, as veteran Morgan Moses was brought in at right tackle while rookies Will Campbell and Jared Wilson look like long-term contributors alongside Drake Maye.
Even with those reinforcements, Mike Vrabel will likely be hard at work scouring the veteran offensive tackle market for possible backups worth taking a chance on. Trent Brown, who played some of the best years of his career with the Patriots, might be tempting for New England after his latest career news.
Brown, who started a handful of games with the Cincinnati Bengals last season, signed a one-year contract with former Patriots executive Nick Caserio and the Houston Texans. Brown was released before the season began, however, as the emergence of rookie Aireontae Ersery made Brown more expendable than he was earlier in the offseason.
Even though the Patriots already have their starting offensive line for the 2025 season set in stone, Brown would be the best way to make sure that both Campbell and Moses can operate with a degree of protection behind him. Houston's loss could be New England's gain.
Patriots should consider Trent Brown reunion after Texans release veteran OT
Brown has been a part of New England's offensive line for parts of four seasons, winning a Super Bowl as a starting tackle on the 2018 squad. Brown's mammoth frame has helped him sneak into the league and continuously remain gainfully employed with teams like the Raiders and Browns.
Josh McDaniels, who is back for yet another stint as Patriots OC, just missed out on the chance to coach him when he took the Las Vegas Raiders head coaching job. Brown and McDaniels could finally link up in New England, albeit with Brown as a veteran backup who could help Campbell develop.
If something adverse happens, the Patriots can feel comfortable with Brown at either tackle spot. That sort of experience and versatility at the tackle spot is very rarely available on the open market, even if Brown is not the Pro Bowl player he was during his prime.
The Patriots should still be in talent acquisition mode, and there is no offensive line or wide receiver addition that this team should immediately discard. Brown may have one or two more good years left, so why not make sure he spends those years in New England?