Image courtesy of Bleacher Report
FOXBOROUGH – You can read that headline and (rightfully) say ‘obviously.’
I get it.
But, you never really know how veteran players might feel about tons of rumors swirling around another veteran player coming to their team. While Brown would obviously improve the offense, a guy like Romeo Doubs could possibly see it as the team not fully believing in his abilities despite signing him as a free agent.
Doubs met the media on Tuesday inside the New Balance Athletics Center and was asked about his thoughts on a possible Brown arrival in New England a few weeks from now.
“I have a ton of respect for him,” he said. “He’s been a dude in this league for quite a long time. I understand that when he first got in the league Coach Vrabel was his coach. So, again, I understand there’s a lot of rumors going around. If he’s here, I’d love to have him here.
“If he isn’t here, I’m still going to wish him the best because he’s one of the best in this league.”
New safety Kevin Byard was also asked about the idea of Brown joining the team or if it’s something the two have talked about since they shared time together in Tennessee.
“No, honestly I try to stay out of that part of the business,” Byard said. “When you talk about contracts or players moving teams and things like that, I want to be as hands-off as possible. We train together in Tennessee, so it’s not like I haven’t…’hey AJ, what’s…’ you know what I mean? But, no, we honestly haven’t talked about it directly. I don’t know what the situation is there.
“I hope they can work it out. I hope he can come here and play for us, but that remains to be seen. I’m just trying to get to know the guys we have here, from Rome, to Pop and the other guys that we have here. But, if we were able to get AJ, obviously he’s an incredible talent, somebody I played with. He’s a true No. 1 receiver in this league.
“That’d be awesome to play with him again.”
It feels like it’s only a matter of time and it sounds like AJ will be welcomed into the locker room with open arms.