Can Antonio Brown really clean up his act on the New England Patriots?
It's the question everyone has been asking since the Patriots signed the enigmatic wide receiver Saturday following his release from the Oakland Raiders.
It's also the question NBC Sports Boston's Tom E. Curran asked Bill Belichick on Tuesday: What makes the Patriots head coach confident Brown won't become a major distraction like was with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Oakland Raiders.
"I wasn't in either of those places, so I really can't comment on what did or didn't happen there," Belichick responded.
When Curran pointed out that Brown was pretty disruptive in Pittsburgh and Oakland, Belichick shot back with a history lesson.
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Asked Bill Belichick what made him confident Antonio Brown wouldn't be as disruptive here as he'd been in Oakland or Pittsburgh. His answer, "It's the same thing you guys said about Randy Moss when we brought him in." — Tom E. Curran (@tomecurran) September 10, 2019
"It's the same thing you guys said about Randy Moss when we brought him in," Belichick said.
Moss' name has come up a lot in discussions about Brown. The Hall of Fame wideout, disgruntled after two subpar seasons in Oakland, came to the Patriots via trade in 2007 and went on to have a record-setting season with Tom Brady and the New England offense.
Brown's situation isn't dissimilar to Moss', and it's notable that Belichick would reference Moss while otherwise remaining tight-lipped about Brown signing with the Patriots.
"We'll just take it day by day," Belichick said when asked how Brown will fit in with the Patriots' offense. "We haven't practiced yet. We're going through information with him. ... Just take it day by day and see how it goes."
Perhaps Belichick is hoping Brown follows in Moss' 2007 footsteps to prove the doubters wrong.
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