Volatile Antonio Brown had a major meltdown at the game yesterday and is no longer a Buccaneer player.
The Buccaneers came to New Jersey and had an up and down day that came with a game win and a loss of their major player. They beat the New York Jets 28 to 24 but lost Antonio Brown- forever. Coach Bruce Arians had no choice over the antics of Brown- he was immediately terminated from the team. There would be no more counseling or babysitting responses this time. It seems Brown just has not been part of the team for most of the season.
Arians went on to explain the situation that led to Brown’s explosive behavior on the field. Brown was asked to reenter the game in the third quarter but Brown remained stubborn and refused. Arians had no other choice and told Brown to leave.
According to Arians, Brown said, “Nope, I’m not going in.” Brown stated that his ankle was still sore. But Arians was in no mood to accept the excuse and became very angry with Brown. Teammates OJ Howard and Mike Evans did try and defuse the situation but had no luck
Antonio then proceeded to remove his jersey, shoulder pads, gloves and T-shirt while on the field and left the grounds; soon he was observed to be driving away from the stadium. Arians later revealed that he was expecting a similar reaction from Bown because “[H]e had that look in his eye that I haven’t seen for a long time.”
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The departure of Antonio Brown is not a big surprise to many. Early in the season, Brown was suspended along with safety Mike Edwards, and ex-Bucs receiver John Franklin III because of fake covid vaccine cards. After the 3 game suspension, Antonio was given a second chance but it appears he did not care for it.
Coach Arians stated that he told Brown, “You’re either with us or against us. And I want you to know I’ll take the guys in this locker room and go play with anyone in the world.” For a long time, Antonio Brown thought that he was indispensable for the Bucs, but with the team winning without him, it shows that they are ready to move on without him.
In 2020, Arians wasn’t sure about playing Brown and changed his position on the field several times. On top of that Brown had been suspended for the first 8 games of the season due to many off-field incidents, but without Brown, the team did poorly in 2020. But this time, Arians had had enough and he told Brown he was done as a player.
No one has heard of Brown’s side of the story. Some of his colleagues have stated that Brown was not happy about the suspensions and that he was constantly being monitored both on and off-field for his behavior, which he did not deem fair. But Brown it appears was ready to walk out and this time his disagreement with Arians was the last straw. Perhaps Brown thought that because of his talent he may be picked up by another team that has a chance to win the Super bowl. Brown dearly loves to play and he does it well. Perhaps Brown simply cannot control his impulsive behavior. Whatever the reason, he is done as Buc.
This is not only a major loss for the buccaneers; Brown himself is also set to lose an enormous amount of money including multiple sponsorships. And with his disregard for the team at this stage, other teams may be very wary of picking him as a player-. Teams today want stable players who are willing to contribute and follow rules on and off the field-something which Brown has had great trouble doing so.
The official news of Brown’s termination may come today; for Brown, he has little choice but to go to another team; but will anyone pick him? For buccaneers, it looks like they can win games without him and that also saves them big money.
In the end, it is important to remember that Brown had dozens of conduct issues over the past 3 years and yet the Buccaneers let all that slide by. He was given a multimillion-dollar contract despite his outrageous behavior and was well-liked by everyone, but it appears that he was simply either not happy or not in control of his life. Time will tell what happens to him, but with only two games left in the season, it looks like he is done for now.
