Pats Pulpit
Brown will be an exclusive rights free agent this offseason.
The New England Patriots have already restructured their coaching staff for the second consecutive offseason. Now it is time for the real work with an expected overhaul of the roster coming.
Free agency will be a key part of this process. And while adding external players to the mix will undoubtably happen with over $125 million in projected cap space, there are also a few in-house free agents to be taken care of. Following a series of moves, 14 remain in need of a new contract prior to free agency.
Among them is offensive lineman Ben Brown, the next player in our free agency profile series.
Name: Ben Brown
Position: Center/Interior offensive line
Opening day age: 27 (5/19/1998)
Size: 6’5”, 313 lbs
Jersey number: 77
Free agency status: Exclusive rights free agent (ERFA)
NFL teams: Cincinnati Bengals (2022), Seattle Seahawks (2023), Arizona Cardinals (2023), Las Vegas Raiders (2024), New England Patriots (2024)
Brown began his college career at Ole Miss in 2017, and over the course of his five seasons as a Rebel started all 40 games he appeared in: he lined up at right guard for 30 of those games, and at center for the remaining 10. Despite his experience, he did not hear his name called during the 2022 NFL Draft. Instead, he entered the league as a rookie free agent signing with the Cincinnati Bengals.
After spending his rookie campaign on the Bengals’ injured reserve with a biceps issue, he joined the Seahawks’ and Cardinals’ practice squads as a sophomore. He was not retained by Arizona following the 2023 season, allowing him to join the Raiders in 2024. He later was signed off Las Vegas’ practice squad by the Patriots, who gave him his first in-game regular season action as a 10-game starter at center.
Raiders stats: N/A
Patriots stats: 10 games (10 starts) | 667 offensive snaps (61%) | 16 pressures surrendered (4 sacks, 2 hits, 10 hurries) | 2 penalties
Season recap: Following a brief stint on their practice squad, the Cardinals decided not to retain Brown after the 2023 season. Instead, he ended up signing a futures contract with the Raiders. The 26-year-old ended up spending the entire offseason and training camp as well as the early portions of the regular season in Las Vegas; he did not see any game action outside of his three preseason appearances.
In October, Brown was poached off the Raiders practice squad by the Patriots, who needed to upgrade their center depth after having lost starter David Andrews to a season-ending shoulder injury. The former UDFA went on to provide that, and more, over his 12 months on New England’s active roster.
Just three days after joining the team, he saw his first game action alongside another first-time starter, rookie quarterback Drake Maye. The pair would remain in the starting lineup together for 10 contests, during which Maye showed promise...
