In spite of the sexual assault allegations against Antonio Brown, he will not be placed on the NFL Commissioner’s Exempt List; therefore he is cleared to play. The Patriots faced the Miami Dolphins on Sept. 15 at the Hard Rock Stadium.

According to the official report there is not an ongoing police investigation, which is why he isn’t on the Exempt List. The Exempt List means that the player continues to be paid and can use the team’s facilities, but they are not included on the 53-man roster, so they are not allowed to practice or play with the team.

The Steelers decided to unload their seven-time Pro Bowl selection Antonio Brown, trading him to the Raiders for third- and fifth-round draft picks in late March. The $29.125 million of his guarantees were voided by the Raiders.

Brown was released from the Raiders in early September after lashing out multiple times over social media against the organization. Hours after Brown was dropped, he was signed with the Patriots. He practiced with the Patriots every day of the week and stayed at the facilities every night until 10 P.M. or later to get caught up with the playbook in preparation for the Sept. 15 game. 

In that game Brown caught four passes and had one receiving touchdown for 56 receiving yards. Head coach of the Patriots Bill Belichick’s thoughts were positive, “We’ll take a look at it on film. It’s one week. There’s a lot of things we can work on but it’s good to have him out there.” 

After the NFL leads its own investigations into the Brown sexual assault case, the NFL can still punish him. During the investigation Brown would be placed on the Exempt List as mentioned earlier. Brown is denying all accusations, which would push out any possible trials in the near future.