New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick has a pretty nice resume of resurrecting NFL careers.
Whether it is talented players with off-the-field issues like Aqib Talib or NFL superstars who just need a dose of motivation to revive their stardom like Mandy Moss and Corey Dillon, Belichick’s mentorship as a head coach has been highly praised.
With his tough, hard-nosed, no nonsense approach, Belichick isn’t for everyone. But he is also a coach who doesn’t shy away from giving players a second chance. In some, cases a third or fourth chance.
In this list, we explore players at different levels of their NFL career that even Belichick couldn’t save. In most of these cases, the Patriots were their last shot at NFL revival.
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Antonio Brown only lasted one game as a member of the New England Patriots
Bill Belichick shocked the NFL when the Patriots decided to sign the talented, but controversial Antonio Brown at the beginning of the 2019 NFL season.
At the same, the move made sense as Brown was joining Tom Brady’s arsenal at the time that included Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon.
With all his off-the-field baggage, the 1-year, $15 million contract given to Brown after his release from the Las Vegas Raiders seemed like one of those classic Belichick moves where someone else trash turned into absolute treasure.
Not to call Antonio Brown’s talent trash, but his legal issues at the time really made him one of the biggest risks Belichick has ever taken.
In taking a little heat in signing Brown, his one-game debut with the Patriots had fans drooling and Brady smiling as the All-Pro receiver looked every much like the part with 4 receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown in his only appearance in a Patriots’ uniform.
The move was trending in a positive direction for the team and the player until Brown’s legal issues got in the way leading to the team cutting him just a week later.
Now, Antonio Brown did go on to win a Super Bowl with Tom Brady down in Tampa Bay and appears free from the legal issues he was dealing with, but he starts off this list because even Belichick couldn’t stop Brown from sabotaging his career.
In short, the Tom Brady-to-Antonio Brown dream was nice while it lasted…in Foxboro anyway.
Bill Belichick, New England Patriots and Chad Johnson were not a match made in heaven
When the New England Patriots finally traded for Cincinnati Bengals star wide receiver Chad Johnson, it was supposed be another one of those Corey Dillon type transactions that was a win-win for the team and player.
That was not the case however and it had nothing to do with the big personality “Ochocinco” came with.
In short, Johnson was obviously on the decline in his career when he came to New England, but if there was any chance of squeezing one more productive season out of the veteran star receiver it would definitely be with Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.
Well, that Brady to “Ochocinco” connection really never got off the ground as Johnson struggled to learn the offense and never formed any chemistry with Brady.
In 15 games, Johnson caught just 15 passes on 32 targets for 276 yards and a touchdown. Two seasons removed from his last 1,000 yard receiving season, it was a very disappointing season for Johnson and a union that never panned out although the team did make it to the Super Bowl that season.
What went wrong?
It was the system and although Johnson had a lot of respect for Belichick as a coach, learning the Patriots complex playbook and fitting into the system just wasn’t the right fit for the player.
"“It’s just their system itself doesn’t fit my skill set, what I’m able to do. I’m predominately outside receiver,” Johnson said, via 247sports. “The Patriots system, it runs from the inside out. So every other team in the NFL, your No.1 is your No.1 receiver and it works from the outside in. The Patriots are the only offense where the No. 1 star is going to working from the inside out. It’s a dink and dunk type of offense that is extremely effective especially with the type of quarterback they have at the helm.”"
In referring to Tom Brady at the time, Johnson couldn’t adjust his game to fit the system. Obviously, Bill Belichick thought he could help the team so the failure on the Patriots coach is not putting Chad Johnson in a position to be effective.
Like other veteran receivers like Eric Decker, Reggie Wayne and Torry Holt, Johnson’s career ended in New England.
The Tim Tebow, New England Patriots experiment was quite interesting
If anyone could find a role for Tim Tebow in the NFL, it is Bill Belichick, right?
Well, when the New England Patriots signed Tebow prior to minicamp back in 2013 speculation fan wild on how the team would use the quarterback.
At the time the team had Ryan Mallett as Tom Brady’s backup and Tebow was simply brought in to compete for that backup role. Needless to say, that experiment failed as Patriots offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, who drafted Tebow while a head coach for the Denver Broncos, couldn’t mold the Florida product into something somewhat decent.
It ended up being Tebow’s last chance in the NFL as a quarterback or any position in the NFL until 2021 when he signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars as a tight end.
Whether or not Tim Tebow finds success in a new position remains to be seen, but his signing was a head scratcher at the time, but actually made a lot of sense because of Belichick and his way of putting players in the right position to succeed.
Unfortunately for Tebow, there was no magic to be found in Foxboro as he was cut in the preseason. Quite honestly, he looked terrible as a quarterback and turned into one of those NFL careers even the great Belichick couldn’t revive.
That time Albert Haynesworth wore a New England Patriots uniform
One player looking to save his career by signing with the New England Patriots was oft-troubled defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth.
When Bill Belichick decided to give the sleeping giant an opportunity back in 2011, there were thoughts that maybe, just maybe Haynesworth was entering a situation in which he could rediscover his dominance along the defensive line.
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After signing a free agent deal, it certainly sounded like the player was motivated to re-define his name in the NFL and he was very enthusiastic about being a part of a winning organization.
"“Everybody is here for you,” Haynesworth said, via ESPN. “I really enjoy that. I know my head coach is for me. I know my owner if for me. I know my players are for me. I feel relaxed, I’m having fun again.”"
Unfortunately, Haynesworth wasn’t able to put in the hard work necessary to fit into Belichick’s scheme on the defensive side of the football. Following an impressive debut against the Miami Dolphins, things went downhill for the monster defensive lineman.
After underperforming and looking overpowered in a game against the New York Giants, the Patriots cut Albert Haynesworth just a few games into the season. All the talk of changing and re-defining his name with the Patriots was basically all talk and fortunately for Belichick, it was just a $1.5 million risk and one that didn’t end up hurting the team as they were pretty deep at the interior defensive lineman position.
If all had worked out, the combination of Vince Wilfork and Haynesworth would’ve been a dynamic force on defense. But it turned out to be one of those situations where Belichick and the Patriots took a shot and whiffed.
Josh Gordon almost worked for the New England Patriots…almost
This one may be more about the entire NFL than it is about Bill Belichick, but wide receiver Josh Gordon tops this particular list as the biggest NFL career the new England Patriots coach couldn’t save.
After trading a fifth-round pick to the Cleveland Browns for a re-instated Gordon, the Patriots had themselves a lethal downfield weapon for Tom Brady as long as he could stay both clean and health.
It was quite a risk given Gordon’s history with substance abuse, but again, the one organization many around the league thought could get through to the talented receiver were the Patriots.
Everything was fine and dandy for a while. During that 2018 season, Gordon formed some chemistry with Brady as he hauled in 40 receptions for 720 yards and 3 touchdowns. There were no off-the-field issues or relapses reported until the final week of the season when Gordon decided to walk away due to reported personal issues.
Later, it was discovered that Josh Gordon did indeed violate the league substance abuse policy and was once again suspended.
Re-instated prior to the 2019 NFL season, Gordon played the first six games with the Patriots before being released by the team. He then signed with the Seattle Seahawks where he played just five games before being suspended by the league once again.
Unlike the previous players on this list, Josh Gordon was at least trending towards a revival before his own personal issues got in the way. During his time in New England, Belichick along with his Patriots teammates praised his work ethic on and off the field.
Unfortunately, with everyone pulling for him, Josh Gordon just couldn’t pull things together, which is too bad because during that 2018 season, there was hope he could emerge as a No. 1 option for Brady. It just happened to be unreliable hope.