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The Antonio Brown experiment lasted exactly 11 days in New England. The troubled wide receiver was released by the Patriots Friday amid sexual assault allegations by his former trainer Britney Taylor.
Brown played one game with Tom Brady and hauled in four balls for 56 yards and a touchdown. It was a fairly impressive debut, albeit against the struggling Dolphins. Either way, it’s over as the team had enough of Brown’s hijinks. Now the question turns to where does Brown go from here? Many experts are saying nowhere. His image is unrepairable. His NFL career is over. Remember, the league can now conduct a thorough investigation without any time constraint.
Not all feel that way. Minutes after the Brown move was announced, Eagles fans flocked to Twitter to inquire about Brown’s services. He’s still only 31 years old and maybe he can get this dumpster fire under control. It seems like a longshot, with uncertain and ugly ramifications.
Yet the Eagles are down at least one starting receiver (DeSean Jackson), and possibly two more (Alshon Jeffery, Dallas Goedert). They could barely field enough receivers to put out at practice the other day. Needless to say, a good portion of Eagles fans seem willing to take a gamble — a Kenny Rogers-sized gamble — on the biggest wild card in professional sports.
Eagles Fans Flock to Twitter for Released Receiver
It didn’t take long for the “Free Antonio” floodgates to open in Philadelphia. Within seconds of his impending release from the Patriots, the Philly faithful sounded the alarm. The Eagles need receivers, so let’s go get one of the best. And pray he’s fully cleared of those sexual allegation charges.
Antonio Brown Not Coming to Philadelphia
Antonio Brown goes against everything the Eagles stand for as an organization. He was selfish in the way he forced himself out of both Pittsburgh and Oakland. He was dishonest about not disclosing the sexual assault allegations levied against him before signing with New England. He’s also been accused of sending his accuser intimidating text messages. Then, there is the whole issue of those crazy videos on his YouTube channel. None of these things is a good look for the Eagles.
Head coach Doug Pederson inherited a team that was in culture shock after Chip Kelly dismantled a talented roster and replaced it with his own out-of-control ego. It wouldn’t work in a lot of places, let alone blue-collar Philadelphia. Pederson came in and changed the whole idea of what working together as a team means. One of his first orders of business was establishing a leadership council comprised of guys like Carson Wentz, Malcolm Jenkins, Jason Kelce and former tight end Brent Celek.
“For me, I know I appreciate playing for him,” said Jenkins. “He’s definitely a coach that gets it. He gives his players a lot of ownership, a feeling that everybody’s role matters and that we’re all included. I think he has the respect of everybody in the locker room.”
After that, something funny happened. The culture changed. The Eagles started winning games. And free agents actually wanted to come to Philadelphia. A guy like Antonio Brown could come in and infect the whole locker room. Pederson doesn’t seem willing to take that chance. This team thrives on lifting each other up, not pulling people down.
“When I say ‘we,’ it’s the entire organization,” Pederson said. “We’ve built a culture where it’s exciting to come to work every single day, and an atmosphere that’s conducive to learning and to be successful.”
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