As if the New England Patriots didn’t have enough controversy leading into their Super Bowl matchup with the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday, cornerback Brandon Browner added some more Monday.

The former Seattle corner — known for his physical play against wide receivers — called for his teammates to target injured Seattle defensive backs Richard Sherman (sprained elbow) and Earl Thomas (dislocated shoulder).

“I’m going to tell my teammates, ‘Go hit that elbow, go hit that shoulder,”‘ Browner said in an interview with ESPN. “Hit it, yeah. Try to break it if you can.”

Browner was an original member of the Seahawks’ Legion of Boom, alongside Sherman, Thomas and Kam Chancellor. But Browner ran afoul of the NFL’s drug policy and missed the final eight games and the postseason with the Seahawks last season.

The Patriots signed him to a three-year contract worth up to $17 million; and, after both teams advanced to the Super Bowl a week ago, he said he had envisioned meeting his former team in the NFL’s title game.

“You’re gonna be my best friend after the game,” he told ESPN, “but at the end of the day I know you want the Super Bowl just as bad as I do.”

The NFL frowns on intentionally injuring opponents, as evidenced by the league’s suspension of New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams in 2012 for the Saints’ bounty scandal.

The Patriots are going through their own scandal right now as the league investigates how 11 of the 12 footballs they used in their 45-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game became underinflated. That investigation is expected to last several more weeks.

Former teammates said Monday they didn’t think Browner’s comments were meant as maliciously as they came off.

Seattle linebacker Bobby Wagner said, “If somebody knows you’re weak in an area, they’re going to try to exploit it. I don’t think he meant it in a malicious way. … It’s just all competing. It’s just a competitive nature.”