Last Tuesday, Ben Brown was in Las Vegas enjoying relative anonymity as a member of the Raiders’ practice squad. Five days later, he was on the field for all 66 of the New England Patriots’ offensive snaps versus the Houston Texans.
In between those two dates was one of the quickest turnarounds in recent memory.
Early last week, the Patriots were looking to upgrade their center position in wake of their well-documented struggles with continuity along the offensive line. They identified a former undrafted free agent, who had started his career by spending time with four teams over a three-year period, as a player worth pursuing.
So, they signed Brown off the Raiders’ practice squad. The move was made on Tuesday, and the next day he already found himself on the Gillette Stadium practice field donning a white No. 77 jersey and wearing a throwback Pat Patriot helmet.
Over the next couple of days, Brown saw a heavy workload for a new arrival — to a point where the team felt comfortable giving him the starting position against the Texans, and entrusting him with protecting first-time starting quarterback Drake Maye. And while his performance in the 41-21 loss was far from perfect, it also was a lot better than the circumstances would suggest.
“This is one of those things, I’ve never seen it before: a guy being able to come in here after four or five days and become the starting center,” Patriots head coach Jerod Mayo later said about Brown’s performance.
“He did a great job. I would say he probably was our best lineman [Sunday], and he did a good job for us. He did a good job all through the week during practice, and then went out there and performed pretty well.”
Jerod Mayo said Ben Brown was the #Patriots best OL yesterday
Not the fleetest of foot, but Brown was sturdy, was generally quick to ID line games, and played with good power, leverage, and toughness
Big reason for the pass pro's improvement and made plays in the run game https://t.co/LMySV3IdVf pic.twitter.com/nvKHCRXt0Q
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) October 14, 2024
After spending his five-year college career at Ole Miss, Brown made the jump to the pros as an undrafted free agent signing by the Cincinnati Bengals. However, a biceps injury suffered in his first ever preseason game robbed him of his rookie campaign and put him in a challenging position from the get-go.
He eventually was released by the Bengals the following summer, and made his way to the Seattle Seahawks. While he did appear in one game for the club in 2023, playing eight offensive snaps, he was unable to make Seattle his permanent home: he was released in late November, and did not find a new club until the Arizona Cardinals picked him up in January.
He also was not meant to last in Arizona, and later that same month signed a futures contract with the Raiders.
“It’s been a long journey,” Brown said during a video call earlier this week.
Last week, that journey brought him to New England. One week later, and with his first career start under his belt, Brown now appears to be the clear top option at the Patriots’ center position: Nick Leverett, who struggled through the team’s Week 6 contest as a replacement for injured captain David Andrews, was cut one day after the Texans game.
With Andrews out for the year and Leverett gone, the Patriots have put their faith in Brown. Based on his first game, that might not be a bad idea.
“The big thing for me was that I didn’t want to go out there and just panic and be perfect,” he explained. “Obviously, we strive for perfection playing in the NFL. But I think the big thing for me was just to play freely and do my best, and rely on my teammates and coaches if I had any questions on anything. That’s what I did.”
Even though New England’s offensive line continued to have all sorts of problems keeping Drake Maye clean, the center position was arguably of the least concern. Yes, the pair messed up one exchange for a penalty, but they otherwise appeared to work well together.
Think Ben Brown, who played really well yesterday, was supposed to snap the ball on Drake Maye's false start
Henry, Maye, and Jennings move at the same time, which would match up with the motion from KB pic.twitter.com/pC9NQFdJer
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) October 14, 2024
Part of the relatively smooth operation was the play-calling protecting Brown and Maye as much as possible, but the Patriots’ new center also played his part. He was solid enough, which in itself was a step in the right direction for the New England offensive line.
“Everyone just told me, ‘Just play fast,’ and, ‘Don’t worry about technique. Just make sure we’re all going to the right guys.’ That’s what I tried doing,” Brown said.
“I just try to play tough, try to play every snap through the whistle. I played with a lot of great teammates over the years, and it really helped me become a better player. And just growing through the years and playing more football has helped out a lot. But I just try to be as physical as I can and play through the whistle any time.”
Now in his first full week of preparation, Brown will try to establish himself as the literal centerpiece of the New England O-line. Frankly, they need him to be considering that even more turnover might be in the cards for the unit after it lost left tackle Vederian Lowe to an ankle injury versus Houston. As a result, the team could very well start a seventh different arrangement in seven weeks this week versus the Jacksonville Jaguars in London.
Any opportunity not to worry about the other spots up front, particularly with a rookie QB in the lineup, is therefore a welcome one. And Brown, despite his whirlwind journey to New England, seems to be in a position to provide just that.
It remains to be seen what the future has in store for the 26-year-old; former first-round pick Cole Strange returning from the PUP list might push him from the starting lineup again. For now and considering a lack of viable alternatives, however, he has become a pivotal member of the Patriots’ offensive operation.
What a difference a week can make.
Ben Brown gunning to be more than just a placeholder at Patriots’ center position
Ben Brown already a pivotal member of the Patriots offense
Ben Brown already a pivotal member of the Patriots offense
Ben Brown
