FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The New England Patriots will be acquiring offensive tackle Trent Brown from the Las Vegas Raiders in a trade after agreeing to a restructured one-year contract worth up to $11 million with him, sources tell ESPN’s Field Yates.
Brown, 27, previously played for the Patriots in 2018, starting every game in the team’s Super Bowl championship season. His excellent season set the stage for the Raiders to sign him to a four-year, $66 million contract as an unrestricted free agent in March of 2019.
But Brown (6-foot-8, 380 pounds) has appeared in just 16 games over the past two seasons for the Raiders.
“Trent’s whole thing is when he’s healthy, in shape and ready to go, he’s as dominant as any tackle in football and he proved that early in the 2019 season. Since then, it’s kind of been a roller-coaster,” Raiders general manager Mike Mayock said last week.
“So really what he needs to do more than anything is get himself in the best shape of his life and come out and prove that he is a dominant tackle in the National Football League, and really that’s all it takes. If Trent gets in shape and stays committed, there’s not a better talent out there.”
Finances were a factor for both teams, as Brown was scheduled to earn $13.7 million in base salary in 2021, and $15 million in 2022.
Moving on from Brown clears about $14 million on the salary cap for the Raiders, who before the trade had about $3 million in space, according to OverTheCap.com.
The Patriots, with approximately $66 million in cap space, can easily absorb Brown’s adjusted contract that will make Brown a free agent after the 2021 season.
Brown, who can play both left and right tackle, could make veteran tight tackle Marcus Cannon expendable in New England. Releasing Cannon, who had opted out of the 2020 season, would save the Patriots about $6.3 million on the cap.
Also, starting left tackle Isaiah Wynn has battled injuries in each of his first three seasons, so Brown adds another layer of protection to the team at the position. Starting left guard Joe Thuney is also likely to depart in free agency after playing on the franchise tag in 2020, and the addition of Brown gives the Patriots an option to move Wynn to guard.
The Patriots had initially acquired Brown from the San Francisco 49ers in April of 2018, landing him along with a fifth-round pick in exchange for a third-round pick. He entered the NFL as a seventh-round pick of the 49ers in 2015.
The trade won’t become official until the start of the league year March 17.