Bill Belichick compares Patriots' signing of Antonio Brown with Randy Moss addition

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What I’m Hearing: USA TODAY Sports’ Jarrett Bell spoke with a number of New England Patriots, including Tom Brady, who can barely contain his excitement for the arrival of Antonio Brown.
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Bill Belichick didn’t want to talk about Antonio Brown following the New England Patriots’ Sunday night dismantling of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Belichick wasn’t much more enthusiastic about breaking down all things AB during a Tuesday conference call, but he couldn’t completely duck the topic given the Pats officially signed the highly talented — and highly disruptive — Pro Bowl wide receiver late Monday afternoon.

“We think he’ll help our team, but until we start working with him — part of that is actually having a hands-on opportunity to work with a player and see exactly how everything fits together and what we can develop. We’ll just have to see how that goes,” Belichick said when asked why the team added the seven-time Pro Bowler.

Belichick also said the team is taking a “day-by-day” approach with Brown, who wasn’t eligible to play Sunday night but could debut with his new club in Week 2 when the Patriots visit the AFC East rival Dolphins in Miami, Brown’s hometown.

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“Every year we’ve had players come on to the team that weren’t with the team at the start of the season in various points in the year in all three phases of the game,” added Belichick, refusing to compare Brown’s situation with current Patriots wideout Josh Gordon or any other player.

“It’s basically the same process. What the role is and how fast the process goes and all of that just depends on each individual situation so we’ll see.”

The Patriots have had mixed success incorporating wideouts with outsized personalities and talent to match over the years. 

Randy Moss was an unqualified success after being acquired from Oakland during the 2007 draft, setting a single-season record for TD catches (23) that year while helping New England to the NFL’s only 16-0 regular season. Yet former Bengals star Chad Johnson flopped during his only year with the Pats, catching just 15 passes in 2011.

Gordon has been a mixed bag so far, an effective downfield target while on the field but still struggling with personal demons that precluded him from participating in last season’s playoffs and Super Bowl LIII.

Asked about the constant controversy that seemed to follow Brown during his final years in Pittsburgh and his aborted 2019 hitch with the Raiders, Belichick replied: “Well, I wasn’t in either one of those places so I really can’t comment on what did or didn’t happen there.”

Pressed further about the possibility AB could struggle to fall in line with The Patriot Way that has made New England the NFL’s longest-running dynasty, Belichick was dismissive.

“It’s the same thing you said about Randy Moss when we brought him in.”

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Follow USA TODAY Sports’ Nate Davis on Twitter @ByNateDavis

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