Well, that didn’t take very long. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers will reportedly release wide receiver Antonio Brown following his sideline outburst on Sunday. After being reportedly told by head coach Bruce Arians that he was being benched, Brown took off his jersey and shoulder pads, threw his undershirt and gloves into the crowd, and then waved before leaving the field in the middle of a play.
Arians on AB "He is no longer a Buc" pic.twitter.com/SXkvWvs2Ly
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) January 2, 2022
Arians confirmed as much during his post-game press conference and despite giving Brown another chance after instituting a zero-tolerance policy, Arians hit his limit in dealing with the mercurial wide receiver. When asked why he decided to make the decision, Arians said “I’m not talking about it, he’s not part of the Bucs.”
Bruce has had enough pic.twitter.com/MKo7cUt4Rq
— Billy M (@BillyM_91) January 2, 2022
According to Pro Football Talk, the Bucs will officially release Brown soon enough and attempt to repeat as Super Bowl champs without the star wideout. If this is it, Brown ends his season with 39 receptions, 519 yards, and four touchdowns.
Of course, while Arians might not want to talk about it, there will be a lot of questions about why it took Tampa so long to come to this conclusion given that not only had Arians said he wouldn’t tolerate any issues from Brown but also defended him following the fake vaccine card reports and ended up giving him another chance. There will also be similar questions for Tom Brady, who championed Brown and has defended him as each drama piled up.
Plenty more to come in the discussion about Brown, how the Buccaneers handled the situation, and where all parties go from here.
[Billy M]
