Despite his laundry list of off-the-field issues, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Antonio Brown receive another chance in the NFL.
Brown’s latest opportunity came in New England, but the wideout’s Patriots tenure ultimately lasted a mere 11 days. The signing, in hindsight, made little sense, and the Patriots now will have to live with their choice to attach themselves to one of football’s most troubled players, even if it was for less than two weeks.
Rich Eisen hopes other teams learn from New England’s failed AB experiment. Should a team be interested in even kicking the tires on the seven-time Pro Bowl selection, Eisen advises to strongly consider the likely negative outcome.
“Now he’s going to go back to school. He’s the Thornton Melon of the NFL, doing his triple lindy or whatever he’s going to do and then suddenly he’ll talk about how he’s found himself and whatever,” Eisen said Monday on “The Rich Eisen Show.” “If the NFL clears him, someone will hire him. That will happen, and woe to you. You will own everything that he does. You will own your reputation. Your hard-earned reputation, your team’s hard-earned reputation, your quarterback’s hard-earned reputation, your coach’s hard-earned reputation will all be married to that guy and he’s proven to be thoroughly unreliable. I would love to turn the page now on Antonio Brown.”
The unfortunate reality is players with exceptional talent are given a longer leash. That said, it would be tough for any team to justify bringing on Brown. Sure, he still might be capable of stuffing the stat sheet, but even above-average numbers won’t outweigh the consistent headaches and drama. Brown has been a source of endless trouble over the past year-plus, and there’s no reason to believe he’ll actually change.
Then again, Brown might not even be interested in making another NFL stop. The 31-year-old on Sunday claimed he was done with the league as he aired out his frustrations on Twitter.
