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Cut by Browns, Kenny Britt goes from winless to wins-a-lot, signs with Patriots

The New England Patriots have played all of this season without receivers Julian Edelman and Malcolm Mitchell, they re-acquired Martellus Bennett only to lose him to injured reserve, and Chris Hogan just returned to the lineup on Monday night after missing the previous four games.

So on Tuesday, the Patriots got some help, reportedly signing Kenny Britt to a two-year deal through 2018.

Releasing Britt was the Cleveland Browns’ first move after firing general manager Sashi Brown last week and hiring John Dorsey. The Browns signed Britt to a four-year, $32.5 million deal in free agency in March but in nine games he totaled just 18 catches (on 38 targets) for 233 yards and two touchdowns.

Movin’ on up: Cut by the winless Browns last week, Kenny Britt is signing with the probably-playoff-bound Patriots. (AP)
Movin’ on up: Cut by the winless Browns last week, Kenny Britt is signing with the probably-playoff-bound Patriots. (AP)

For Britt, signing with New England is like going from the outhouse to the penthouse, at least in the standings: the Browns are 0-12 this season, and even with their loss to the Dolphins on Monday night, the Patriots have 10 wins and are still considered a favorite to make Super Bowl LII.

When you add in the fact that the Rams lost their last seven games last year, Britt hasn’t felt what it’s like to win since Nov. 13, 2016.

New England had shown interest in signing Britt during free agency, but backed off after the price to sign him got too high for its liking.

His was a bust in Cleveland, but Britt had his first 1,000-yard season in 2016, with the Los Angeles Rams.

It makes sense that Bill Belichick would find Britt appealing – he is pretty much obsessed with any player from the Greg Schiano era at Rutgers, and has drafted or signed plenty of them over the last few years. Two of the Patriots’ top three safeties, Devin McCourty and Duron Harmon, went to Rutgers, as did Logan Ryan, who was drafted by and played for the Patriots before departing for Tennessee this year for a big-money free-agent deal. And there have been others.