Antonio Brown Cannot Keep His Story Straight
Antonio Brown released this lengthy statement on his exit from MetLife Stadium on Sunday via his Attorney which Adam Schefter blasted out to the world. The main takeaway is:
"I took a seat on the sideline and my coach came up to me, very upset, and shouted, 'What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you?' I told him, 'It's my ankle.' But he knew that. It was well-documented and we had discussed it," Brown said. "He then ordered me to get on the field. I said, 'Coach, I can't.' He didn't call for medical attention. Instead, he shouted at me, 'YOU'RE DONE!' while he ran his finger across his throat. Coach was telling me that if I didn't play hurt, then I was done with the Bucs."
There are certainly some truths in this statement, but there are a lot of holes to AB's story. Brown did miss six games with an ankle injury prior to being suspended an extra three games. In that time, the very same Attorney said he'd be using that time to rehab his ankle extra so he's a full go when his suspension was up Week 16.
This part really sticks out to me,
"And [Brown] will make the most of this time [he's suspended] by treating his ankle injury. Mr. Brown will be motivated, well rested, and in the best shape of his life when he returns in week 16."
To his credit, he looked great when he returned Week 16 in Carolina. He had 10 catches for 101 yards on a whopping 15 targets, so he did look pretty healthy 10 days ago.
This is what he had to say about his injury after that game at his post-game presser seven days before the Jets game:
Bruce Arians had tested positive for COVID last Tuesday, so was not at practice on Wednesday. Bucs Assistant Head Coach Harold Goodwin did comment on it on Friday saying AB "tweaked" his ankle and had a chance to play Sunday despite missing practice on Thursday and Friday as a result of that. Brown obviously played and looked good when he was out there.
And interesting theory was that AB was the incentives and that the Bucs were intentionally freezing out Brown who had 3 catches for 26 yards on 5 targets in the 1st half in order to not achieve those.
Brown re-signed this past off-season for a one-year deal. But last season, the Bucs also signed Brown to a one-year deal last season that was also heavily tied to performance incentives. But Bruce Arians and Tom Brady made sure he hit those when he was closing in on them in Week 17 last year.
Word is going around that AB did flip out because he wasn't getting the ball from Tom Brady enough vs. the Jets. But why would he be worried he wouldn't get the same treatment this year? Especially if Brady has shown he will just give him a bunch of shovel passes to hit the catch mark if needed? This doesn't add up.
Then let's talk about the shot part.
"Because of my commitment to the game, I relented to pressure directly from my coach to play injured. Despite the pain, I suited up, the staff injected me with what I now know was a powerful and sometimes dangerous painkiller that the NFLPA has warned against using, and I gave it my all for the team. I played until it was clear that I could not use my ankle to safely perform my playing responsibilities."
Injections for pain are not uncommon in the NFL. They're definitely less common than what they used to be, but a lot of times guys do it just to suit up on Sundays. And especially around the end of the year a lot of guys are not 100%. But would the Bucs, who are looking to repeat their Super Bowl Championship risk and recently lost their leading Receiver really risk the health of one of their other elite Receivers in a game they were favored to win by 13.0 points? Seems odd. And I understand the Bucs were fighting for the #2 seed, but they already clinched a Playoff berth, so I would think getting to the dance fully healthy would override jostling for seeding.
Now the Bucs still hold Antonio Brown's rights.
When asked about that in today's press conference, Arians responded that it is a management issue and Brown is not on the team. Did Brown's camp leak this story in the hopes that the Bucs just outright cut him so he can potentially sign with another playoff team like the Chiefs, Rams, or Packers? You can never be sure of his intentions, but as the case with a lot of information circulated by Brown and his camp, there are a lot of holes in this story.