Dante Scarnecchia weighs in on the Patriots situation with Trent Brown

One of the more frustrating units to watch last season was very clearly the offensive line, which is a primary reason Bill Belichick emphasized improving the roster and coaching this offseason.

Besides moving on from Matt Patricia, who was also the offensive line coach on top of being the offensive coordinator, Belichick brought in former Patriot and highly-regarded coach Adrian Klemm to get the o-line back in shape.

And although he didn't add many high-profile players in free agency, signing only Calvin Anderson and Riley Reiff, Belichick almost over-prioritized the line in the draft in April, selecting Jake Andrews, Sidy Sow, and Atonio Mafi.

With fresh faces and a new coach in toe, there was a lot of interest in how the line would look throughout OTAs and minicamp. But one key member of the roster was noticeably absent; Trent Brown.

Rumors began circulating with theories about why he wasn't present for practice, especially as it was reported that defensive lineman Lawrence Guy was holding out due to contract reasons. But Brown's absence was cleared up fairly quickly, as the weather was a factor in his flight being canceled to make it to Foxboro on time.

However, Brown was not seen at the following practices either, and the team has not explained why.

Now that we're looking ahead to training camp and the offensive line is still a glaring issue, and Brown is a vital piece to the roster, legendary coach Dante Scarnecchia spoke about Brown specifically during an appearance on WEEI’s “The Greg Hill Show” on Thursday.

When asked about the situation, after hearing a quote of Brown sharing glowing praise of Scarnecchia during their time on the Patriots together, Scar reiterated the talent that Brown has, and he hopes whatever is barring him from attending practices will soon be resolved.

"All that’s happened here the last week with him not being around and coming in and not doing much, I don’t know what all that’s about, honestly. … But I like the kid. I think he’s a tremendous talent, and I would love to see him be there and all in and be able to do the things that he can do to help the team.

Because if he’s the player that he can be, then you don’t have to worry so much about that side of the line of scrimmage, specifically against pass rushers, and you can devote maybe whatever attention that needs to be devoted to the other side if they need it. So that’s where they are with him. They’ve got to get him on board or do something with him to get him to play the way that they need him to play."

Because of his direct influence on Brown and keeping him motivated when he appeared to be "checked out" of practice, Scar was asked if a lack of leadership in the locker room could be a leading cause of Brown's behavior.

But the coach shot that down, citing David Andrews and Mike Onwenu as leaders of the lineman and mentioned the addition of Adrian Klemm as well.

He went on to say he believes Klemm and Brown likely need to have a conversation or a meeting of the minds to smooth things out, mainly because of how talented Brown can be when he's on his A game.

"I think the more time that they can spend with one another, Trent and Adrian, and have a meeting of the minds relative to what’s expected of him — the guy will do what you want him to do and what he’s asked to do. You’ve just got to get him. You’ve got to get him on board, and that’s what’s important at this point."

The situation is perplexing and unusual for the Patriots, and it's not likely we'll be gaining any clarity on Brown's status any time soon, as training camp doesn't take place until late July.

Hopefully, Belichick and Klemm can get things back on track with Brown and bring him back in the building sooner than later, or they will need significant upgrades to the offensive line roster before the regular season starts.