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The Oakland Raiders‘ prize of free agency, Trent Brown, has a lot to live up to after receiving the biggest contract for an offensive lineman in NFL history. After a dominant playoff run with the New England Patriots that ended with a Super Bowl championship, it was still surprising when the Raiders gave Brown the contract they did. He hasn’t been a consistent force on the offensive so far in his career. However, he’s been using this offseason to work with some of the best in the game so that he can improve and live up to that contract. Brown had a chance to chat with the media after the second practice of training camp.
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Trent Brown Says Jon Gruden ‘More Alive’ Than Bill Belichick
There probably aren’t two coaches in the NFL that are more different than Jon Gruden and Bill Belichick. The only thing that they have in common is that they’ve both won a Super Bowl. Gruden is animated, loud, outgoing and loves the spotlight. Belichick is quiet, calculating and tries to avoid the media as much as possible. These differences didn’t stop a member of the press from asking Trent Brown what he thought the differences between them were. He struggled to give an answer.
“Jon Gruden is a lot more alive,” said Brown. “Belichick is… I mean… Belichick.”
Brown had a hard time answering that question because the two men couldn’t be more different. The comment shouldn’t be seen as a dig at Belichick because Brown has made his respect for his old coach known. Belichick’s place among the greatest coaches in sports history is already cemented and he’s only adding on to it at this point. While Jon Gruden has won a Super Bowl, he’s going to have to return the Raiders to glory if he’s going to be considered one of the great coaches of all time. The fact that Belichick is quiet has seemed to work just fine for him and Gruden’s personality is part of his style. To each his own.
Trent Brown Discusses Record Contract
As previously mentioned, Brown’s got a lot to prove he’s going to live up to that massive contract. He was asked about the continuing trend of paying offensive linemen more and more money.
“When you’re paying those guys across the ball that type of money and you gotta pay us to stop them,” said Brown about how defensive linemen get paid in relation to offensive linemen. “It’s only right.”
Considering how good the pass rushers are these days and how expensive quarterbacks are, Brown makes a valid point. Good offensive linemen are more important than they’ve ever been. If Derek Carr gets hurt because of a sack, that throws the whole season away. Just look at 2016 as an example of this. The trend of offensive linemen getting paid more and more will likely continue as quarterbacks are paid more.
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