Antonio Brown's time with the Patriots lasted almost two weeks. It involved one game (poor Dolphins) and saw him catch a touchdown from Tom Brady.
It may very well be the last touchdown he ever catches.
The Patriots released Brown amid allegations of sexual assault and misconduct from multiple people, as well as intimidation by Brown toward one of his accusers early this week.
Brown's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, posted on Twitter that his client wants to keep playing football, but it would take a tone-deaf franchise to even consider adding Brown until all allegations against the receiver are cleared up. If you acquired Brown to your Fantasy team, you can keep him for as long as you wish but it seems unlikely he'll play again this season.
Brown's departure thins out what was an all-star receiving group for the Patriots, but it doesn't exactly leave them in dire straits. If anything, it improves the Fantasy outlook for all receivers involved.
Julian Edelman had 11 targets in Week 1 without Brown, then four targets in Week 2 with Brown. One would assume he'll regain his role as Tom Brady's favorite short-area target. He rebounds to a safe No. 2 receiver, more so in PPR leagues.
Josh Gordon is also a solid No. 2 Fantasy receiver. He was always going to work as a deep threat for the Patriots, but Brown's arrival pushed Gordon to the side in terms of being their No. 1 outside receiver. Now he's reset as their best outside receiver, just as he was when he was drafted as a Round 5 pick back in August.
And then there's the guy who caught two touchdowns for the Patriots in their Week 1 blowout of the Steelers. It wasn't Gordon or Edelman -- it was Phillip Dorsett. Always more of a role player and never a premier part of their offense, Dorsett has managed to land a 100% catch rate through two games this year and should work as their third receiver moving forward. That's never meant big numbers for him in the past, though. Dorsett has modest career-highs of three touchdowns and 528 yards on 33 catches (59 targets). It would be a major change in offensive philosophy for the Patriots to suddenly lean on the fifth-year receiver when they already have Edelman and Gordon. Dorsett can be added for now but don't expect him to become a Fantasy fixture.
One other pass-catcher to remember is James White. No one dropped him in the wake of his first two games (12 and 1 PPR points), but no one was jazzed to have him on their rosters. Now they should be. White can re-establish himself as one of Brady's weapons and should reel in seven targets per game, just as he did in Week 1 before Brown played with New England.
With Brown, Brady had top-five potential. Now? Maybe he's a top-12 Fantasy quarterback. Remember back when we were drafting and Brady wasn't considered a consensus top-12 option? That was back when he was throwing to the same exact receiving corps he has now -- Edelman, Gordon, White and Dorsett (with rookie N'Keal Harry as a midseason call-up from Injured Reserve). The only difference between pre-Brown and post-Brown is that the Patriots offensive line is in worse shape. This is an area the Patriots have overcome before, so it's not a major liability for Brady, but it's something to keep in mind. Brady's going to work behind this less-than-ideal unit throwing to a receiving corps that no longer includes one of the best receivers of the past six seasons. It's hard to expect him to routinely total three touchdowns as he's done through the first two weeks of the season.
