Sports Q

Sports Q: Should the Patriots bring back Antonio Brown?

Could a reunion be in the works for the former Patriots wide receiver?

Then-New England Patriots wide receiver Antonio Brown looks on before the start of an NFL football game against the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla. Brown has apologized to the Patriots and team owner Robert Kraft for any negative attention he brought to the team during his brief stint in New England. (David Santiago/Miami Herald via AP, File)

By Chad Finn

November 20, 2019

Welcome to Boston.com’s Sports Q, our daily conversation, initiated by you and moderated by Chad Finn, about a compelling topic in Boston sports. Here’s how it works: You submit questions to Chad through Twitter, Facebook, and email. He’ll pick one each weekday to answer, then we’ll take the discussion to the comments. Chad will stop by several times per day to navigate. But you drive the conversation.

Should the Patriots bring back Antonio Brown?

Well, since it seems to be the question of the day after his Instagram apology to Robert Kraft. I feel like I should put apology in quotes, but I suppose there’s a chance that it’s sincere. He even called him Mr. Kraft.

You don’t have to witness Tom Brady looking longingly at his guest house and thinking of the 11 great days with probably the second-best receiver he’s ever played with to know what he wants. Part of Brady’s frustration seems to stem from the decision to let Brown go, and that’s somewhat understandable. He’s 42, he’s trying to win a seventh Super Bowl, and in the 10^th game of the season he’s got Jakobi Meyers running in the opposite direction of where the threw the ball. Of course he wants Brown back. He’s a Hall of Fame talent.

He’s also a world-class knucklehead, and probably more than that. As interesting as it would be to see him back here and watch what he could do – and how compelling it would be to watch the Patriots try to justify it – he has a long track record of being a lousy guy, and he couldn’t keep that part of him under control even for two weeks when he was here before. He might be worth a lot, or he might be more trouble than he’s worth.

I hope they don’t bring him back, and I wonder whether the NFL would allow it. But I reserve my right to change my mind on this one, because it will stink if the Ravens, Chiefs, Colts or some other fellow AFC contender makes a run at him.

What does everyone else think? Should the Patriots bring back Antonio Brown? I’ll hear you in the comments.