Getty Antonio Brady called out the Bucs just hours before he was officially released.
The Antonio Brown saga continues and the drama is something that Tampa Bay Buccaneers head Coach Bruce Arians emphasized that he hopes is over after the team finally released the playmaker on Thursday, January 6. Hours before his release became official, Brown took to both Twitter and Instagram to put the Buccaneers on blast and no one was safe from the receiver’s aim, not even Tom Brady.
Brown called out everyone from Arians to Brady’s personal trainer Alex Guerrero who the receiver claimed took $100,000 from him for services he never performed.
“@tombrady guy @ag_tb12 [Alex Guerrero] charging me 100k never doing the work on me!” Brown said on his January 6 Instagram Story tagging both Brady and Guerrero. “How you even work wit people like this! This what I was dealing wit.”
Brown also posted a meme featuring the Home Alone movie poster with his face next to Brady along with Arians implying the two left him on his own in New York. The former Bucs receiver later tried to clarify that he is still on good terms with Brady, but he chose an interesting way to show it given the quarterback’s close relationship with Guerrero.
Here is a look at a sample of Brown’s Instagram Story posts.
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Brown Posted Screenshots of His Text Messages Exchanged with Arians
Health over Wealth # Barbarian
The focus of a good portion of Brown’s social media posts was his strained relationship with Arians. Brown posted screenshots of text messages he exchanged with Arians prior to the Bucs-Jets game.
“This is BA. Make sure [you’re] ready to go tomorrow,” Arians is quoted as saying in a December 30 text. “We ARE NOT resting for the playoffs.”
Brown replied a day later with a picture of himself getting treatment as he expressed doubt about his chances of playing.
“I’m all in coach really [can’t] get to full speed I wanna win wanna be there,” Brown texted on December 31. “If I wake up tomorrow feel better I’ll be ready kinda rolled it outside on 2pt play I want what’s best for team lmk [let me know] when you free I’ll call u.”
The text messages do not seem to show the “play or else” theme that Brown has been trying to paint since the sideline altercation. It does confirm that Arians had knowledge of Brown’s ankle injury, something the coach denied was an issue during their conflict.
“Come see me [in] the morning,” Arians responded. “We’ll talk it out. Definitely want you with us in case you’re ready.”
Arians on Brown: ‘He Was Very Upset at Halftime About Who Was Getting Targeted’
Don’t get it twisted. My brothers have been good to me. From Tom to practice squad, we were a top-level unit. They have been good to me and knew nothing about my talks with coach last week. The team mishandled this situation. They let me down and, more importantly, my teammates.
Hours after Brown’s outburst, Brady noted that the receiver should be shown empathy when asked about the situation during his January 2 postgame press conference. Following Brown’s social media rants, Brady admitted he had some “personal feelings” but declined to share them with the media.
During a January 6 press conference, Arians responded to Brown’s social media posts by speaking as in depth about the situation as he has since the playmaker walked off the field. The Buccaneers coach revealed that Brown was initially upset about his targets at halftime.
“He was very upset at halftime about who was getting targeted,” Arians said, per Buccaneers.com. “We got that calmed down, the players took care of that. It started again on the sideline. We called for the personnel group that he had played in the entire game, and he refused to go into the game.
“That’s when I looked back and saw him basically wave off the coach. I then went back and approached him about what was going on. ‘I ain’t playing.’ ‘What’s going on?’ ‘I ain’t getting the ball.’ That’s when I said, ‘You’re done. Get the ‘eff’ out of here.’ That’s the end of it.”
Brown can be claimed by a team on waivers and will be free to sign with another franchise if he goes unclaimed. The receiver indicated he will have season-ending surgery and is already a free agent this offseason, making a team unlikely to add the receiver prior to free agency.