Getty Antonio Brown continues to attack Tom Brady.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are sending a message to Antonio Brown by publicly leaving his status with the team up in the air after being suspended for three games for falsifying vaccination records to the NFL. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Buccaneers are considering releasing Brown after he serves his suspension.
Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer noted that this potential decision is unlikely to sit well with Tom Brady. The Buccaneers quarterback has campaigned for Brown both in Tampa and New England. Brady has not publicly commented on the latest Brown controversy, but his feelings put the Buccaneers in a difficult decision regarding the star receiver’s future.
“My guess is Brady would be upset if Brown gets released,” Breer detailed on December 6. “And that makes a call that’ll have to come a complicated one for the Bucs, who could get Brown (and safety Mike Edwards) back for their Dec. 26 game in Carolina. Remember, when Arians brought Brown in, he publicly declared that the embattled receiver was in Tampa on a zero-tolerance basis.
“Now, that was last year, and obviously Brown’s banked some sweat equity with Arians and his staff since. Still, what Brown did was more than screw up. He was busted amid allegations that he and two teammates (Edwards and the since-jettisoned John Franklin III) had fake vaccination cards from remote Citrus County, around an hour and a half away.”
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The Buccaneers Previously Stated They Have a Zero-Tolerance Policy With Brown
Why would the Buccaneers consider releasing one of their top offensive weapons? Tampa Bay signed Brown in 2020 with the idea that the franchise would have a zero tolerance policy if there were future incidents. Brown is now on his second contract with the Bucs, so it will be interesting to see how literal head coach Bruce Arians upholds his previous comments.
“That is a federal offense and a staggering breach of trust (taking the Bucs at their word, that they didn’t know) with a coaching staff that’s one of the NFL’s oldest, and has members who’ve had health issues,” Breer added. “All of which puts Arians and GM Jason Licht in a tough spot. Either they draw their line in the sand here and risk Brady’s ire. Or they just grit their teeth and manage Brown through the end of the year and playoffs, in the name of chasing a championship, which has basically been their mandate since No. 12 got there.”
The Bucs Plan to Wait Until After A.B.’s Suspension to Make a Decision on His Future
Arians declined to get into the specifics of Brown’s suspension but noted the team would make a decision on the receiver’s future after he has served his three-game suspension. Assuming he is once again healthy, Brown will be eligible to return to the field on December 26 against the Panthers.
“Alright, obviously we have two guys suspended. The league did their due diligence and we move on,” Arians explained during his December 3 press conference. “I will not address those guys for the next three weeks. They’ll just be working out, and then we’ll address their future at that time. Other than that, there’s really nothing to say.”
Tampa May Consider the State of Their Roster When Making a Final Decision on Brown
NBC Sports’ Peter King believes the team may find it difficult to give Brown another opportunity given the receiver’s decision potentially put some of the older members of the Bucs coaching staff at risk. Multiple reports indicate that Brown is now vaccinated, but it is unclear how long the receiver pretended to have gotten his shot before having a change of heart.
“The Bucs say they’ll have nothing to say till Brown’s suspension is up and he is eligible to return Dec. 26 against Carolina,” King noted on December 6. “What must be going through the minds of Arians and GM Jason Licht? At times, Brown has seemed Brady’s favorite receiver, and the Bucs, 9-3 with five games to go, have a legitimate chance to repeat as champs.
“Might they wait till Brown is eligible and see where their receiver group is then—see if they really need Brown? Might they think the media clamor will die down over the next two weeks, and they’ll be able to fold Brown back into the team with an I-am-truly-sorry press conference by Brown when he’s eligible to play? We’ll learn a lot about the Bucs, and their ethos, in the next couple of weeks.”