What Tom Brady really thinks and feels about Antonio Brown‘s recent actions and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ release may have to wait for a documentary.
“I think there’s a lot of personal feelings. I don’t really think this is really the week to discuss it though,” Brady told the media on Thursday, January 6. “I’m just going to do the best that I can do as the quarterback of the team and try to put together a great week (and) finish strong.”
“I mean, you just always deal with different things over the course of the season,” Brady added. “That’s what we’re doing this week.”
Brown’s sideline outburst and exit followed by a social media storm this week became the latest thing for the Bucs to deal with. During the Bucs’ 28-24 win over the New York Jets on Sunday, January 2, Brown ripped off his jersey, tossed gear into the stands and ran out of the stadium after a heated conversation with head coach Bruce Arians. Brown then publicly claimed Arians forced him to play despite an ankle injury that caused “extreme” pain.
The Bucs kept Brown on the roster until Thursday morning before his release amid Brown’s recent posts of text conversations with Arians about the ankle injury. Brown also posted a text thread with Brady’s trainer, Alex Guerrero, and claimed Guerrero owes him $50,000 for work not done.
Brady, who played a significant role in Brown joining the Bucs in 2020, deflected questions about Brown’s actions throughout the media session. Given Brady’s candidness in his documentary, “Man in the Arena“, he could talk about what transpired with Brown someday in a similar setting.
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Targeting Issues With Brown
Brady didn’t take the bait directly when asked about Brown not getting enough targets, which Arians said was the issue during the Jan. 6 press conference.
“You want to get everybody involved obviously, and I think the receiver position … they’re a long ways from the football when you stand out there,” Brady said. “As a quarterback, you just obviously do the best you could do. Try to read the coverage and try to find the open guy.”
“You realize that guys are going to be open and unfortunately, you don’t get it sometimes and other times, you make bad reads, and you make bad throws,” Brady added. “Just part of playing football, playing quarterback.”
Brown had five targets in the game before his exit as he finished with three catches for 26 yards. The former Bucs receiver recently got turned down for getting $2 million in performance incentives guaranteed according to ESPN’s Jenna Laine.
Brady also dodged a question about Brown’s ankle.
“I’m just thinking about my job, trying to do the best that I could do,” Brady said.
Next Man Up
Throwing deep balls to Cyril Grayson instead of Brown or getting the ball to Tyler Johnson on a route instead of the injured Chris Godwin doesn’t faze Brady.
Grayson caught the game-winning touchdown against the Jets. Johnson posted four receptions for 50 yards on six targets.
Too much time for Tom Brady.
9 plays, 93 yards, 1:57 with no timeouts end with the game-winning TD to Cyril Grayson.
“With Chris going down, (and) obviously losing Antonio, it’s just different guys are going to step into those roles and do a great job, and those are big shoes to fill because those are really good players,” Brady said. “We’re going to do everything we can to get the job done.”
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Tom Brady Reacts to Antonio Brown’s Release