Belichick on Trent Brown being a healthy scratch: "Activated the players who wanted to play"

FOXBORO -- Patriots head coach Bill Belichick did not have much to say about left tackle Trent Brown being a healthy scratch for Sunday's loss to the Bills. But the words that he used said quite a lot.

 "We activated the players who wanted to play," Belichick told reporters when asked about Brown following Sunday's 27-21 loss in Buffalo.

Asked to clarify his comments -- whether he said/meant the team activated players they wanted to play or activated players who wanted to play -- on a Monday morning conference call, Belichick didn't give much clarity on the situation.

"It was a decision by the coaching staff," he said.

It sounds like Brown has already played his last snap in New England. While the behemoth of a tackle has played well at times during a tumultuous season, there have been other times when he hasn't seemed very engaged or enthusiastic on the field. He played just 36 percent of New England's offensive snaps in last week's win over the Broncos.

Brown has been in and out of the offensive line mix the last few weeks while dealing with hand, ankle, and knee injuries. He also missed some practice time leading up to the Week 17 tilt against the Bills with an illness, but was removed from New England's injury report on Friday. 

So it was a bit of a surprise when the team released its inactive list 90 minutes prior to kickoff, and Brown's name was on it. According to ESPN Boston's Mike Reiss on Patriots 5th Quarter, Brown didn't even have a locker in Buffalo, indicating he didn't make the trip with the team.

With Brown out of the picture, Vederian Lowe ended up playing every snap for New England at left tackle on Sunday.

Sunday's healthy scratch comes amid reports that the Patriots have had trouble motivating Brown in recent weeks. Despite the giving him a $2 million pay bump during the season, the Boston Herald's Doug Kyed reported ahead of Sunday's game that the Patriots have been struggling to keep the 30-year-old engaged. In missing three of New England's last seven games heading into Sunday's action, Brown would not have hit his playing time bonuses for the year.

Belichick didn't comment on that report after Sunday's loss, but Mike Giardi of the Boston Sports Journal reported after the game that some of Brown's teammates believe that he could have suited up for some of the games that he missed. 

"A lot of us - almost all - are fighting for each other and for pride, even though the results aren't what any of us want," Giardi was told by an unnamed player. "It sucks that not everyone is willing to put it out there. I hope people who sign the checks are paying attention."

That's a pretty damning quote from that player, as was Belichick's comment after Sunday's loss.

Brown, who won a Super Bowl will the Patriots in 2018 in his first stint in New England, will be a free agent after the season. Given the way the things are currently going with the Patriots and the big left tackle, it certainly feels like the two sides will be parting ways at season's end.