Former Florida offensive tackle makes surprising NFL free agency move

The New England Patriots are getting free agent offensive lineman Trent Brown back, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport. Despite visits with other teams, Brown has reportedly come to an agreement to return to the Patriots for the 2022 season.

Brown entered the NFL back in 2015 out of Florida as a seventh-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers. He spent his first three seasons in San Francisco at right tackle before leaving for his first stint with the Patriots. Afterward, he spent two seasons with the Raiders. Brown just wrapped up his second stint with New England this past season.

He played on a one-year, $9 million deal for the Pats in 2021 before testing the free-agent waters. With Brown protecting young Pats quarterback Mac Jones, the squad went 10-7 before losing to the Bills in the playoffs.

Medical scare almost led Trent Brown to early retirement

This season, Trent Brown revealed that his career almost all came to a screeching halt last season due to an IV mishap.

Last season, the tackle was with the Las Vegas Raiders. Prior to a game against Cleveland, the offensive lineman was going through his normal game-day routine when air entered his bloodstream through the IV. Afterward, he was hospitalized for three days — the offensive tackle stated he nearly went into cardiac arrest before the aforementioned game.

Fast-forward, Brown was finally able to face the Browns this season as a member of the Patriots. After the victory, the former Florida lineman put it all in perspective.

“I almost died before we played them last year,” Brown said, via NFL.com. “When I was laid out on the floor, I definitely thought about my kids. I even thought about retiring, honestly. It was that scary. I was about to be done with it. Then after it kind of settled down a bit, I was fine.”

Brown returned later that season for three games — but the Patriots tackle stated the full recovery process took about eight months.