The Patriots faced the Dolphins today and wideout Antonio Brown took the field for the first time with his new team. Brown practiced every day during the week, and was expected to be a real part of the game plan.
To that end, Brown stayed until 10 p.m. or later most days during the week to catch passes from backup quarterback Jarrett Stidham, while he worked on his routes and the playbook. Similar to Josh Gordon's debut last year, the goal will be to get him catches early, get him involved, and get one of the NFL's best receivers some confidence in the scheme.
But off the field, the former Raiders WR's situation is just getting started. Brown's accuser in a civil lawsuit alleging that he committed rape, Britney Taylor, is slated to meet with league investigators on Monday, sources say. The hope from the league is to ramp up the investigation as quickly as possible, given the time element with games happening each week.
Sources have said that neither the Patriots, nor the NFL, knew of the coming charges against Brown prior to his signing in New England. Had the team known, one person familiar with the situation said, owner Robert Kraft would not have signed off on the signing.
Brown is compelled to cooperate with the league and be truthful, as per personal conduct policy, and one source said he will do so.
While the NFL did not place him on the Commissioner's Exempt list before today, the league did not rule it out later this week. As spelled out in the personal conduct policy, a player may be placed on the exempt list when he is criminally charged with a crime of violence or if commissioner Roger Goodell believes a person may have violated the policy. In this instance, Brown was not deemed to have fulfilled those requirements. Interestingly, Brown and the accuser engaged in settlement talks for months before the lawsuit was filed. Those were confidential, which may explain why so few people knew about it.
Either way, this week should be telling. Taylor, who was to get married this weekend, will speak to the league soon. That won't be all. There was another football player, a rookie, who was in the house when Taylor alleges an incident took place, the lawsuit says. Per the rules, that person will also be compelled to meet with investigators. There may also be additional evidence from both sides not yet made public. In other words, Brown plays today, but this is merely the beginning.
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