Patriots left tackle Trent Brown was a healthy scratch for Sunday’s 27-21 loss at Buffalo.

News broke when the team listed Brown on its inactives list two days after removing him from the injury report. The 6-foot-8, 380-pounder played in a rotation the past couple weeks while dealing with hand, ankle and knee injuries that caused him to miss two games in November. Since then, however, the Patriots have struggled to keep him motivated, per the Herald’s Doug Kyed.

Related Articles

How Bailey Zappe explains three first-half interceptions in Patriots’ loss to Bills

Callahan: How different will the Patriots look in 2024?

Patriots can’t overcome early turnovers in 27-21 loss to Bills

Tom Brady thought about unretiring in May before friends forced his hand?

Healthy-scratch Trent Brown has caused Patriots issues for weeks

Asked about the decision to make Brown a healthy scratch, Patriots coach Bill Belichick told reporters post-game: “We played the players we wanted to play.”

Pressed about whether Brown’s motivation has been an issue, Belichick replied: “You’d have to talk to whoever gave that report.”

On Sunday morning, Kyed wrote: “The Patriots gave Brown a pay bump worth $2 million in added incentives in September with the goal to keep him on the field. Since Brown missed time with knee and ankle injuries at midseason, meaning he wouldn’t receive all of his increased pay, they’ve had trouble keeping him motivated over the final weeks of the season, according to a source.”

ESPN’s Mike Reiss noted during WBZ’s post-game show the Patriots did not have a locker for Brown in Buffalo, indicating he did not travel with the team. On past road trips, the Patriots have set up lockers for players who were game-time decisions or healthy scratches. The Pats started beleaguered backup Vederian Lowe in Brown’s place.

Asked about Brown absence, Patriots center and captain David Andrews told reporters: “I appreciate Trent. Played a lot of football with him.”

Brown is currently in a contract year after signing a 2-year, $13 million pact in March 2022.  It’s unknown whether he will play in next weekend’s season finale against the Jets.