How much was Antonio Brown worth to the Patriots? According to the bookmakers in Las Vegas, not that much.
“I think Brown is worth only a half a point,” said Nick Bogdanovich, William Hill’s director of trading. “He was a distraction, and New England wins with [Tom] Brady, defense and [Bill] Belichick.”
As of Friday evening, the Patriots were 22-point favorites at William Hill for Sunday’s game against the Jets in Foxborough, Mass. Bodganovich dropped the line a half point early Friday morning, then another half point on the news the Patriots had released Brown.
The mega-spread had grown as high as 23 ¹/₂ points Wednesday, and Bogdanovich said he can still see it getting back to that neighborhood before kickoff because of expected heavy public action on the Patriots.
“I think the public will ignore [the Brown news] and when they get to the window, they’ll say, ‘New England,’ ” Bogdanovich said. “They’re still the Patriots, and the Jets are still without [Sam] Darnold.”
The largest favorites in Week 3 remain the Cowboys, who listed at -22 ¹/₂ over the Dolphins at William Hill and -23 at other reputable Las Vegas books.