Had the New England Patriots known about the rape allegations Antonio Brown was facing, team owner Robert Kraft would not have green-lit signing the wide receiver, according to NFL Network.

The Patriots were blindsided by the civil lawsuit Brown’s former trainer Britney Taylor filed Tuesday in Florida because representatives for Brown and Taylor were in discussions for months and agreed not to reveal any details publicly until a suit was filed.

Those discussions were settlement talks which started as early as April, according to ESPN, which reports Brown declined to sign a settlement agreement with Taylor which would’ve seen him pay more than $2 million to avoid a lawsuit. ESPN reports settlement discussions included two mediations.

Brown had a 10 p.m. deadline last Sunday night to sign the agreement, ESPN’s Jeff Darlington reported. That was a day after Brown was released by the Raiders and agreed to a deal with the Patriots.

Taylor is scheduled to meet with NFL officials on Monday. Brown, 31, is officially active Sunday and will make his Patriots debut against the Dolphins.