Antonio Brown. “AB.”
You in all probability have an opinion on him. If not as an NFL participant, then absolutely for his infamy as one of the crucial self-centred and, some would add, morally deplorable figures in fashionable sport annals.
Excessive bars to clear, these.
So, the right way to really feel after phrase started leaking Friday night time that one in every of final decade’s most dynamic vast receiver playmakers was en path to Tampa Bay, more likely to signal with the already wideout-loaded Buccaneers?
Quite a few experiences say the 32-year-old Brown has agreed to phrases with the Bucs on a one-year contract.
All as a result of Tom Brady, Tampa Bay’s new quarterback this 12 months, desires Brown on the roster, after the 2 struck a friendship in the course of the latter’s cup of espresso early final season in New England — and despite the fact that Brady already is mega-spoiled with all-pro Mike Evans and Professional Bowler Chris Godwin as vast receivers, plus his previous buddy Rob Gronkowski at tight finish, and perhaps the perfect trio of working backs within the league with Ronald (RoJo) Jones, Leonard Fournette and LeSean McCoy.
“WTF” may need been the top-trending acronym on Twitter by the point Friday became Saturday.
The Bucs reportedly are eye-balling their Week 9 house sport towards NFC South nemesis New Orleans for Brown’s on-field debut.
So what’s up right here? Why would Bucs GM Jason Licht and savvy head coach Bruce Arians muck with — and danger probably undermining — what’s been working? Tampa Bay is 4-2, leads the NFC South and has simply begun to play with cohesion on offence, to enrich a lights-out defence.
First, let’s summarize the previous two years for Brown, a four-time all-pro and seven-time Professional Bowler in Pittsburgh from 2010-18, with 75 landing catches and a bunch of NFL receiving data to his credit score.
Round this time two seasons in the past, Brown’s occasional bouts of accelerating inner petulance grew to become extra pronounced and even spilled onto the enjoying area. He publicly demanded the ball extra. He as soon as even sulked off the sphere relatively than have fun with teammates after QB Ben Roethlisberger threw a landing cross to another person.
Within the final week of the 2018 season, whereas prepping for a sport Pittsburgh needed to win to have any post-season hopes, Brown grew to become so enraged at some minor, verbal practice-field slight from Roethlisberger that he bolted straight house, then ignored texts and calls from coaches and teammates for a pair days. He confirmed up on sport day anticipating to play however head coach Mike Tomlin, on the finish of his rope with Brown, wouldn’t even gown his No. 1 receiver.
Over the following three months Brown proceeded to publicly carve up everybody and all the pieces to do with the Steelers, leaving the membership no alternative however to commerce him, with no leverage as well.
The then-Oakland Raiders bit, buying him in March 2019. They fortunately washed their arms of him lower than six months later, after Brown self-manufactured an extended string of self-topping, self-serving, self-centred, self-defending fake outrages. From getting frostbitten ft for not carrying socks in a low-temperature therapeutic chamber; to his beyond-bizzare battle with the NFL to be allowed to proceed carrying his outdated, banned, unsafe helmet mannequin; to being fined for lacking training-camp exercises; to just about coming to blows over all of it with Raiders GM Mike Mayock; to then being banned for 2 days of practices; to being reinstated, at the very least quickly.
Brown orchestrated his outright launch from the Raiders on Sept. 7, 2019, after 24 hours of epically unstable, embarrassing criticisms of the membership he posted in movies and texts to social media.
That didn’t cease the Patriots from instantly signing him. But Brown lasted all of 14 days in New England. He performed in a single sport, immediately exhibiting on-field rapport with Brady (then in his final of 20 seasons with the Patriots); the duo linked 4 instances, together with as soon as for a landing in a defeat of the Dolphins in Brown’s hometown of Miami.
The membership was pressured to chop Brown solely days later, after three additional head-shaking developments.
First, a former feminine private coach of Brown’s filed a civil go well with in South Florida. She claimed Brown sexually assaulted her 3 times from 2017-18, together with one incident of rape. Brown’s lawyer vehemently denied all accusations.
Secondly, Sports activities Illustrated revealed a slew of disturbing, theretofore unknown accusations towards Brown that ranged from an alleged act of sexual misconduct, to stiffing charities, plus a number of different “home incidents.”
Thirdly, on account of these Sports activities Illustrated tales, a lady talked about within the collection requested the NFL to intervene after she alleged Brown, in his second and closing week as a Patriot, started harassing her.
The Pats lower Brown on Sept. 20. He hasn’t performed a down of ball since.
Earlier this 12 months the NFL slapped him with an eight-game suspension, not for any of the above incidents or prison allegations — which the NFL continues to be investigating — however relatively as a result of Brown pleaded no contest this previous June to a felony housebreaking/battery cost and two misdemeanors, after he allegedly attacked the driving force of a shifting van exterior his house.
Whew. Some two years, eh?
And THIS man immediately is NOT going to be a distracting, disruptive presence within the Buccaneers locker room?
Possibly Licht and Arians, because the Tampa Bay Instances reported Friday night time, have “actual issues in regards to the well being of their (current) receiving corps, which has begun to have an effect on the rhythm of the passing sport with Brady.”
Certainly, whereas Evans has in some way performed by a bothersome ankle harm, Godwin and Scott Miller have been out and in with hamstring accidents.
Or perhaps, Licht and Arians had been frightened {that a} robust NFC foe that might block the Bucs’ meant path to the Tremendous Bowl would signal Brown. Equivalent to New Orleans or Seattle. Even when Brown doesn’t make any considerable influence in Tampa Bay, he for positive gained’t make any influence now on the Saints or Seahawks, will he?
In January 2019, Arians stated on an ESPN podcast that Brown — whom he coached in 2010 and 2011 as Steelers offensive coordinator — was “an excessive amount of” of a “diva,” despite the fact that he stated he likes Brown and admires that he “performs as arduous as anyone on Sunday, and he practises arduous.”
You may’t discover anybody, even on the Steelers or Raiders, who’d disagree with that final.
And Brady, by all experiences, has some say on his surrounding expertise in Tampa, and has badly needed Brown on the Bucs since summer season.
For Brown now all of it comes all the way down to this, as Arians identified final 12 months: “He’s simply gotta make higher choices.” Particularly off the sphere.
Guess we’ll discover out quickly sufficient if he’s able to it.
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