Former Raiders wideout Antonio Brown
Michael Irvin is sending out an SOS on behalf of the Dallas Cowboys.
The Hall of Fame wide receiver and current NFL analyst called for a desperate measure in the face of desperate times, suggesting the ailing Cowboys sign controversial free-agent WR Antonio Brown.
“I’m not gonna lie: Desperation makes you think about a lot of things,” Irvin said Wednesday on 105.3 The Fan. “We ain’t got no time to sit up riding the high horse, like we’re too good for this and we’re took good for that. We need some H-E-L-P right now! Real help!”
Dallas certainly could use a healthy body with WR1 Amari Cooper (quad) in danger of missing Sunday night’s nationally televised tilt against the Philadelphia Eagles, and slot man Randall Cobb recuperating from a back injury that sidelined him for Week 6.
“You need Amari to get back,” Irvin said. “Unless you want to go pick up Antonio Brown until (Cooper) gets back. What do you guys think about that?”
Irvin was reminded that Brown’s baggage — on- and off-the-field — is the reason he was dumped by three teams (Steelers, Raiders, Patriots) in one offseason, and the reason that Dallas has strongly refuted any interest in the former All-Pro pass-catcher.
But Irvin is also aware the Cowboys, near and dear to his heart, face the possibility of trotting out Michael Gallup and Devin Smith as the starting receivers for a pivotal midseason divisional throwdown. And that doesn’t sit too right with him.
“Where we find help, I don’t care,” he said. “I don’t care about media relations or a public relations nightmare. … Maybe, we should just go pick him up for a week or two.”
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Cowboys Don’t Care What Brown Can Do
Twice the team had an opportunity to land the mercurial Brown, whose unreal talent once dwarfed his bombastic personality. And twice the Cowboys said thanks but no thanks to potential locker room contamination.
Take it straight from owner Jerry Jones, who outright admitted giving zero thought to signing Brown last month, after Dallas trampled the New York Giants in the regular season-opener.
“We didn’t. You saw why (Sunday) with the play of those receivers. I’m really pleased with where we are at receiver. I didn’t think we’d go there,” Jones said on Sept. 9.
Plugged-in ESPN reporter Ed Werder also refuted Brown speculation at the time, explaining how even the wheeling-and-dealing Jones will resist the sky-high-risk, moderately-low-reward acquisition.
“While it is a fact that Jerry Jones has often taken a risks on incredibly talented players who should never have been available, even if flawed, I’ve been told not to expect the #Cowboys to pursue Antonio Brown,” Werder tweeted. “Not impossible. But not currently expected.”
Latest on AB’s Comeback
Seemingly exiled from the sport, Brown, alleged to have committed sexual assault and rape, is training for re-entry after filing a $40 million grievance against the Raiders and Patriots in an attempt to recoup the guaranteed money he lost from his now-defunct deals.
Brown has yet to draw a lick of interest since the Patriots handed him his walking papers. More likely than not, he’ll spend the year on the open market before putting himself back in the spotlight next offseason, when AB will try to repair his tarnished reputation.
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Follow Zack Kelberman on Twitter: @KelbermanNFL