Antonio Brown Likely To Win Grievance Against Patriots?
While Antonio Brown is looking at an uphill battle if he wants to play football again in 2019, it does seem like he at least has a good chance to recoup some of the money he lost in his various releases.
The “consensus” of five different league sources is that the Patriots will eventually have to pay Brown the $9MM signing bonus they chose to withhold from him, according to Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports. It doesn’t sound like they’ll have to fork over the cash anytime soon though, as Robinson’s sources expect Patriots owner Robert Kraft will have to pay out “deep into the 2020 calendar, after an exhaustive arbitration grievance.”
One source took a particularly strong stance, saying “[New England] fighting to keep that signing bonus now is either a gross misunderstanding of [the CBA’s] rules on voiding signing bonuses or it’s just out of spite. I can’t believe they don’t understand the signing bonus voids in the CBA. There’s just no way. This is just spitefulness. They’re fighting [Brown] completely out of the anger and embarrassment in ownership.”
It seems like Brown is likely to get back $9MM from New England, and he isn’t going to stop there. We heard just yesterday that Brown was looking to pursue a grievance against the Raiders, although he might have a more difficult time getting money back from Oakland due to his repeated antics during his time as a Raider. The Patriots didn’t cut Brown after sexual assault allegations became public and allowed him to play in their Week 2 win over the Dolphins, which will make it hard for them to argue they released Brown because of information they weren’t aware of.
Although the star receiver has threatened retirement and has gone back and forth on Twitter about whether or not he wants to continue playing, his agent insists that he does and that teams are interested pending the league’s investigation into the assault allegations. We’ll keep you posted as soon as we hear any new developments on the grievance.
Patriots Work Out Three TEs
It sounds like the Patriots are still searching for a solution at tight end. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets that the team worked out three tight ends yesterday: Gabe Holmes, Ben Koyack and Eric Tomlinson.
Koyack, a former seventh-rounder out of Notre Dame, spent the first four seasons of his career with the Jaguars, where he appeared in 37 total games. The tight end hauled in 24 receptions for 199 yards and one touchdown during his stint in Jacksonville. He was released by the Jags at the end of the preseason. Tomlinson also has NFL experience, compiling 16 career receptions for 193 yards and one touchdown in 39 career games. Back in September, the Giants claimed the 27-year-old off waivers from the Jets, but he was waived after going catchless in three games with his new squad.
Holmes, a 2015 undrafted free agent out of Purdue, has appeared in 10 games (four starts) without hauling in a catch.
The Patriots have gone through a number of tight ends as they’ve looked to replace Rob Gronkowski‘s spot in the lineup. Ben Watson is set to return in Week 5, and both Matt LaCosse and Ryan Izzo are currently dealing with injuries. The Patriots could be looking to add some necessary depth for tomorrow’s matchup against the Bills.
Patriots Work Out WR Ryan Grant
After the Raiders broke up their seven-wide receiver contingent by releasing Ryan Grant, the sixth-year pass catcher headed east for a workout. The Patriots auditioned Grant on Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Grant caught four passes for just 14 yards as a Raider this season. He snagged 35 passes for 334 yards with the Colts in 2018, that coming after his lucrative Ravens deal fell through.
Prior to his stays in Indianapolis and Oakland, Grant was a four-year contributor in Washington. Though, he was only a regular in two of those seasons. The most notable Grant slate came in his 2017 contract year, when the post-DeSean Jackson/Pierre Garcon Redskins deployed him as a 10-game starter. He posted a career-high 573 receiving yards that season.
The Patriots have signed (and cut or traded) numerous veteran wideouts over the past two years. They have six receivers on their active roster, though Matthew Slater operates almost entirely as a special-teamer.
Latest On Antonio Brown, Patriots
The Patriots’ decision to end Antonio Brown‘s stay after 11 days may not have been as unanimous as originally reported. Robert Kraft led the charge for the Patriots to jettison the embattled wide receiver, and while Bill Belichick went along with it, Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston notes the 20th-year Pats HC probably would have retained Brown had Kraft not insisted he be released.
Kraft has not been known to intervene in personnel matters, with Curran adding this is believed to be the first time (though, Kraft was reported to have played a role in the Jimmy Garoppolo trade process — something the owner denied). Tom Brady was not on board with Kraft’s decision to cut Brown, Curran adds, noting the future Hall of Fame quarterback’s practice work with the four-time All-Pro was nearly flawless and that Brown’s talent was “beyond anything Brady ever worked with.”
Kraft was reportedly “enraged” upon learning of Brown’s text messages to his second accuser, and it led to the team cutting ties with the perennial Pro Bowler. This led to a mostly deleted Brown Sunday-morning tweetstorm, with the disgruntled receiver referencing Kraft’s involvement in the reported prostitution sting. The Brown saga will still include the Patriots going forward, considering an NFLPA-backed grievance centered around his $9MM signing bonus is likely forthcoming.
While the Patriots will face an obstacle in keeping that $9MM off their books because they deployed Brown in Week 2 after learning of the civil suit filed against him (per Albert Breer of SI.com, on Twitter), the organization will be in line to lean on the contract’s morals clause as well as language indicating Brown’s failure to disclose “any situations that may prevent continued availability” in this upcoming battle. The NFLPA will likely argue that CBA language requires a higher standard to void signing bonus money and would supersede these team-implemented clauses, CBS Sports’ Joel Corry writes.
The Pats are set to carry $5.75MM on their 2019 cap because of this process, with Corry adding a grievance likely will not be settled until 2020. A $4.5MM cap credit would come the Pats’ way, in addition to Brown’s $4.75MM 2020 charge being removed from New England’s books, should the team prevail in the grievance.
NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/25/19
Here are today’s practice squad updates:
Buffalo Bills
- Signed: WR Jordan Veasy
Detroit Lions
- Signed: DT Ray Smith
- Released: DE Jonathan Wynn
Houston Texans
- Signed: T Christian DiLauro, WR Chad Hansen
- Released: WR Tyron Johnson
New England Patriots
- Signed: TE Jason Vander Laan
New York Jets
- Signed: QB Mike White
- Released TE Ian Bunting
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: TE Alize Mack
- Released: LB Robert Spillane
Patriots To Sign Cody Kessler
The Patriots have a new quarterback. On Wednesday, the Pats agreed to sign Cody Kessler, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter).
The former Jaguars, Eagles, and Browns passer has 12 career starts to his credit and, now, he’ll learn from one of the greatest quarterbacks of all-time. At this moment, fourth-round pick Jarrett Stidham serves as Tom Brady‘s QB2, though he tossed a pass into the hands of Jets safety Jamal Adams on Sunday for a pick six.
Kessler was most recently with the Eagles, but he was dropped from the flock when the club opted to roll with Josh McCown and Nate Sudfeld as Carson Wentz‘s support team. In his five games/four starts for the Jaguars last year, he completed 64.9% of his passes with two touchdowns against two interceptions.
Patriots Withhold Antonio Brown’s Money
A $5MM installment on Antonio Brown‘s $9MM signing bonus was due on Monday. The Patriots, as many anticipated, declined to pay that $5MM, Mike Florio of PFT hears. 
It’s likely that a nasty showdown involving Brown, agent Drew Rosenhaus, and the NFLPA will ensue. Per the terms of the league’s collective bargaining agreement, Brown did not commit a “forfeitable breach” – though Florio ponders that the Patriots could argue that Brown was not forthright about the sexual assault allegations levied against him. In this scenario, the Patriots would assert that they would not have signed Brown in the first place, had they known about the claims.
On an interesting note – Florio writes that there is no downside for the Patriots in refusing to pay the embattled wide receiver. The worst case scenario, as he understands it, would be that the Patriots are forced to pay out the signing bonus at the behest of an arbitrator.
Patriots Place James Develin On IR
James Develin‘s season could be over. On Monday, the Pats placed the fullback on injured reserve. 
[RELATED: Antonio Brown To Go Back To College]
Develin suffered a neck injury, which may end his year after just 58 offensive snaps through two games. Jakob Johnson was called up from the practice squad prior to Sunday’s win over the Jets, so he figures to pick up some of the workload moving forward.
Per league rules, teams can only bring two players back from IR. Already, the Patriots have tackle Isaiah Wynn and N’Keal Harry parked off of the 53-man roster, so the odds aren’t necessarily in Develin’s favor.
Develin signed his first NFL contract with the Bengals, but he has played all of his NFL downs with the Patriots. Save for the 2015 season he lost to injury, Develin appeared in every regular season game for the Pats between 2013 and 2018. In 2017, he earned his first career Pro Bowl nomination. In 2018, he inked a two-year contract extension, taking him through the 2020 season.
X-Rays Negative For Edelman
- Patriots receiver Julian Edelman was knocked out of New England’s win over the Jets with a rib injury, but fortunately it doesn’t seem too serious. X-Rays on his ribs were negative, sources told Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). Rapoport writes that it’s an “early positive sign,” which would seem to suggest he isn’t completely out of the woods yet. In the wake of Antonio Brown‘s release, the Patriots’ receiving corp would suddenly go from loaded to a bit thin if Edelman has to miss any time.
Patriots Host Group Workout
The Patriots hosted a group of lesser-known players for workouts yesterday. The team had defensive back Jordan Brown, tight end C.J. Conrad, defensive tackle Braxton Hoyett, quarterback T.J. Linta, and receiver Sean Modster tryout, according to Mike Reiss of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Modster is an undrafted rookie from Boise State. He spent training camp with the Ravens, and signed with Baltimore’s practice squad after getting cut. He didn’t last too long, getting released from the practice squad on September 10th. Linta is a rookie passer from Wagner who spent some time with the Chiefs this offseason before being waived with an injury designation.
Conrad, from Kentucky, was just released from the Giants’ practice squad earlier this week. Brown was drafted by the Bengals in the seventh-round back in April, but failed to make the team or practice squad. A South Dakota State product, he’s had workouts with the Jets and Dolphins recently, so he’s making the rounds in the AFC East. Hoyett is a rookie from Mississippi State who was waived by the Titans at final cuts.