Feb 13, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; NFL free agent Antonio Brown smiles in the third quarter in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

After very publicly leaving the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Antonio Brown is now looking for a new team. Brown revealed that he refused to play because he was pressured to play on a bad ankle that needed surgery. While Brown needs surgery in order to get back on the football field, he’s not doing that just yet.

Brown revealed to TMZ Sports that he’s not getting ankle surgery until he signs with an NFL team. Brown said, “I need to get my ankle fixed, but I just want to make sure I got an obligation or a commitment from a team.” He added, “It’s a lot for a guy to go do surgery without an idea of where you gonna work, or who you going to work for.”

I can try to understand where AB is coming from. Medical procedures are expensive and, assuming he doesn’t have to have surgery in order to live a healthy life off the field, it makes sense to hold off on surgery until you know you’re actually going to need surgery.

That being said, Brown doesn’t exactly hold all the negotiating power here. He might be a great receiver but he’s also had some sort of problem with every team he has played with. So even if Brown is a top pass catcher, it may not be worth it for a team to sign him. Especially if he still needs to get ankle surgery before he can even play.

[TMZ Sports]

About Phillip Bupp

Producer/editor of the Awful Announcing Podcast and Short and to the Point. News editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. Highlight consultant for Major League Soccer as well as a freelance writer for hire. Opinions are my own but feel free to agree with them.

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