Antonio Brown’s apparent new beginning with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers already has its off-field challenges.
Truck driver Anton Tumanov sued Brown and trainer Glenn Holt on May 12 for more than $30,000 with the charges of one count each of battery and assault according to Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times. The lawsuit is for a 2020 altercation already settled with no conviction in criminal court with, which authorities arrested Brown for in January 2020 per Baker.
Tumanov, who moved Brown’s possessions from California to Florida, was “met with resistance and violence,” the lawsuit states per Baker. The lawsuit also states that Brown and Holt damaged Tumanov’s vehicle, attacked him, and caused injuries according to Baker. Tumanov “continues to suffer sever bodily injuries, pecuniary losses, and mental anguish,” the lawsuit reads per Baker.
Brown pleaded no contest to the charges of “burglary with battery, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance, and criminal mischief” in in the June 2020 criminal court case per Carli Teproff of the Miami Herald. Judge Edward Merrigan Jr., who presided over the case, gave Brown two years of probation, required him to address psychological issues, restricted his travel to the U.S. for work only, and assigned him to work 100 hours of community service per Teproff.
Brown received an eight-game suspension from the NFL in 2020 due to several personal conduct violations such as truck driver altercation. The league reportedly still has an open investigation open on Brown for misconduct according to Pro Football Talk.
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Brown Revived His Career in Tampa
The Bucs signed Brown in October 2020 to a one-year deal of $1.6 million, and he chipped in on offense in the second half of the regular season and playoffs. Brown posted 45 receptions, 483 yards, and four touchdowns in eight regular season games. He had another 81 yards and two touchdowns on eight catches in the playoffs despite dealing with a knee injury that kept him out of chunks of the Divisional Round game at New Orleans and the entire NFC Championship game in Green Bay.
Brown’s re-signing came on the heels of his settlement with former trainer Britney Taylor, announced on April 21. The civil lawsuit against Brown over accusations of sexual assault and rape put Brown’s 2021 season in a precarious position months earlier when the trial was moved to December 2021. Taylor’s counsel also requested a subpoena of three NFL franchises Brown played for through 2020.
Few Offers for Brown in Free Agency
Teams didn’t line up to seek Brown in free agency. The Kansas City Chiefs placed the only other offer on the table beside the Bucs. A few rival quarterbacks such as Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks and Lamar Jackson of the Baltimore Ravens showed interested in Brown, but it didn’t amount to their respective teams’ pursuit of the four-time All-Pro.
Analysts such as NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that Brown may get no more than one-year “prove-it type” deal. The Bucs already had a deep wide receiver group under contract with Chris Godwin, Mike Evans, Scotty Miller, and Tyler Johnson.
Tampa agreed to re-sign Brown for a one-year deal worth up to $6.25 million with incentives. The Bucs cleared salary cap space by restructuring tight end Cameron Brate’s contract.
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Bucs’ Antonio Brown in Legal Trouble Again: Report