The New England Patriots are decaying into dysfunction.
After losing to the Las Vegas Raiders on a stunningly misguided last-play lateral, more drama is unfolding in Foxborough.
On Monday, ESPN’s Instagram account posted a quote from Bill Barnwell suggesting the Patriots must “at least call [Tom] Brady’s people” to see if he’ll return to New England. He also suggested they could try to bring back Jimmy Garoppolo to replace Mac Jones.
As documented by Dov Kleiman, Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown liked the post.
Jones has only thrown seven touchdowns in his second season, and he completed 13 of 31 passes for 112 yards in Sunday’s 30-24 loss. However, fans don’t think Brown should point the finger amid a down year.
Along with his blocking struggles, Brown has committed seven penalties this season.
New England’s problems extend far beyond Jones, who hasn’t received much help from uninspiring play-calling. It’s hard to see this same Pats team playing significantly better with Brady or Garoppolo under center.
The Patriots will have a lot of questions to answer if they miss the playoffs, but they’ll first have to deal with Brown’s strange Instagram activity before facing the Cincinnati Bengals this Saturday.