FOXBORO, Mass. — Antonio Brown offered New England Patriots a sneak preview of his potential Sunday in a 24-snap, four-catch, one-touchdown debut against the Miami Dolphins.
Assuming the wide receiver remains active and eligible, expect his role to increase steadily in the coming weeks.
During his Wednesday morning news conference, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said the team can design ways to use Brown’s elite talents to create matchup issues for opposing defenses.
“Yeah, sure,” Belichick said. “There are things we can utilize him for or Josh (Gordon) or anybody else. It’s just a question of volume and time and reps. You can’t put in 20 new plays when you have 90 plays in practice over the course of the week. You can’t put in 20 plays and expect to be able to rep those and get them right and then do all the other things you have to do, so you have to be selective.”
Having signed with the Patriots after training camp and the preseason concluded, Brown practiced with the team just three times before suiting up for his first game. That showed at times Sunday: Brown caught each of his first four passes from Tom Brady for 56 yards and a score but failed to haul in any of his final four targets and didn’t catch a pass after halftime in New England’s 43-0 rout.
Brown’s chemistry with Brady and level of comfort in the Patriots’ offense should grow as the season progresses, and the Patriots would be foolish not to have one of the best receivers in NFL history heavily involved in each game plan. But with practice time limited during the regular season, selectivity will be key.
“If you want to put in something new, then how much time can you allocate to it?” Belichick said. “How much are you going to use it? How effective is it going to be? Do you really want to put in a play that’s going to gain 5 yards and waste 10 percent of your practice reps on that? I don’t know. I’d rather work on a play that’s going to gain 50 yards. You just have to decide how you want to do it.
“So can you expand (the number of plays designed with Brown in mind)? Sure. (But) it’s not infinite. We’re not in training camp; we’ve got to get ready for a game. There are other considerations with other parts of the team and other players on the team, and you just have to balance all that out. I’m sure each week we can add a little more with new players. … But it’s not limitless. We just don’t have that many opportunities.”
The Patriots, who will host the New York Jets this Sunday at Gillette Stadium, have experience with integrating a top-flight wideout into their offense midseason. Last year, they traded for Gordon after Week 2. After sitting out his first game with New England, Gordon played 18 snaps in each of the next two before being elevated into the starting lineup in Week 6.
Julian Edelman and Gordon were the Patriots’ top two receivers Sunday in Miami, with Brown and Phillip Dorsett playing 33 and 49 percent of offensive snaps, respectively.
