As soon as Antonio Brown took off his shirt and shoulder pads and waved to the MetLife Stadium crowd before heading into the tunnel and leaving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers behind, people started wondering what had led to this point. Bucs coach Bruce Arians tersely announced afterward that Brown was no longer with the team but questions remained given how much he and the organization had given the wide receiver chance after chance to play.
While Brown himself seemed to thank the team for his almost-two-year run with them, rumors swirled that he had been benched by Arians or that Brown had refused to enter the game at the behest of Arians.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport discussed the situation on Monday morning and provided the most details yet regarding what happened. According to Rapoport, Brown disagreed with the Bucs over his health and things went downhill from there.
From @GMFB: How and why did #Bucs WR Antonio Brown end up storming off the field shirtless to end his Tampa Bay career? pic.twitter.com/nd6xq0xMLp
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 3, 2022
“Antonio Brown did not believe he was healthy. … What he told the staff, from what I understand, is that he was not going into the game because, in his mind, he did not feel he was healthy,” Rapoport said. “The response from the offensive coaches and from Bruce Arians was, ‘If you are not going to go into the game when we tell you to go into the game, you cannot be here.’ At that point, they threw him off the sideline and then cut him from the team.”
It does give the incident a bit more context. And while the way Brown handled the situation was childish and excessive, it does showcase the strained relationship between the two sides and the push/pull for football players when they don’t feel as though the team has their best interests at heart.
This is quite a bit different than the narrative circulating yesterday https://t.co/7dxlktLPYQ
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) January 3, 2022
Guess nobody told Bruce Arians that there’s a reason you fire people at the end of the day and not during the middle of it.
Anyway, this is why I said it was weak of Arians to avoid all questions after the game. Had A LOT about AB before. Don’t go silent now. https://t.co/JcsvgFUSJi
— Jemele Hill (@jemelehill) January 3, 2022
BA probably gonna wanna start answering some of those questions. https://t.co/khbrIyfpwl
— Mike Golic Jr (@mikegolicjr) January 3, 2022
Arians was intentionally obtuse with the media after the game. This is not right. Say what you will about AB but Arians should have told the whole story and explained why he didn't think AB was hurt or wanted him to play hurt. Cut him in middle of game and told him leave https://t.co/yOXre2pj6g
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) January 3, 2022
Bruce Arians might have to start sharing a bit more information than he has been if he wants to set the record straight.
