Getty Antonio Brown has a lot of confidence in Richard Sherman.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers released mic’d up highlights from the team’s win over the New England Patriots in Week 4, and Antonio Brown clearly wants to ease the transition for Richard Sherman. Brown knows what it is like to be a midseason addition to a contender, and the wide receiver was repeatedly encouraging Sherman throughout his first game with the Bucs.
During one moment, Brown finds Sherman on the bench and tells him to keep his energy up. Brown also reminded Sherman that he was the “greatest” with an expletive for added emphasis.
“Keep your vibes up, it’s your first game, keep the energy,” Brown told Sherman. “I need to see that smile and that swag. Right now, you like, uh [sinks shoulders]. You’re the f****** greatest! Never forget.”
Here’s a look at the footage from Brown’s return to New England.
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Brown: ‘You’re Richard Sherman, You Know That Right?’
At the start of the game, Brown reminded Sherman it may take him a little time to adjust to being back on the field. Sherman had just a few days of practice before playing nearly every snap for Tampa Bay against New England.
“It’s your first game back for a long time, so it’s gonna take just a little [bit], 30 minutes to get it going,” Brown explained. “You’re Richard Sherman, you know that right? Take over.”
Sherman admitted that part of his acclimation to the new system is not being afraid to ask “dumb” questions.
“It 100 percent is [like learning a new language],” Sherman noted on October 6, per Buccaneers.com. “T.B. [Todd Bowles] has a lot of variety in his packages and what he likes out of his corners, corners over and the movement of the disguises and things like that. It did take a second. It took a lot of hours of just going back and forth. A lot of questions that may have been dumb for other guys to ask, but I didn’t know. Even throughout the process of the week, there would be checks. It’s just human nature to assume [we all knew what’s going on] because we’re in the season. It’s not like you’re doing installs anymore.”
A.B. on Facing the Patriots: ‘That’s What It All Started for Me & Tom’
Heading into the Buccaneers matchup with the Patriots, much was made about Tom Brady’s return to New England, but it was also a bit of a reunion for Brown. The wide receiver had a brief stint with the team in 2019 playing in just one game before being released amid off-field concerns.
“Yeah, that’s what it all started for me and Tom [Brady],” Brown explained in his postgame press conference. “I had the opportunity in 2019 to come here, and be a part of a great organization like the Patriots and to be able to be in this position two years later. Tto be here, it’s definitely God’s plan and I was grateful to be out there with Tom and do what we desire to do.”