Antonio Brown is trying like hell to get back into the NFL — and it seems he’s ready to play his final card in order to make that happen.
Brown hasn’t seen the gridiron since Week 2 of the NFL season when he caught a touchdown pass from Tom Brady just a few days after signing with the New England Patriots. His New England tenure was short-lived — just 11 days, in fact — and he ultimately was released amid an abundance of controversies, the most serious of which were allegations of sexual assault.
Since then, he has gone every which way on social media to remind the football public just how good of a football player he is. He’s also used social media to offer apologies to people like Patriots owner Robert Kraft, only to undo it all shortly thereafter. On Thursday night, he posted a photo of him and Brady, saying he missed his teammate.
Now, as the NFL season hits the home stretch, it seems Brown is trying once more to get into the good graces of the league itself and all 32 NFL teams. Brown issued a carefully crafted apology to Instagram on Friday.
Here’s what it said:
First and foremost, I’d like to apologize to my family, friends and anyone who I offended. I never once meant to make anyone feel like I wasn’t thankful and appreciative of the opportunity that I was afforded to play the game I love. I’ve worked hard over the years to earn a chance to compete in the greatest game on earth. Over the years I was met with challenges and I can honestly say I didn’t handle those challenges in the manner that I should have. Over the past few weeks I’ve had the opportunity to think about everything that’s transpired and I am deeply sorry to all who I’ve offended. While my behavior was inexcusable, sometimes when people are coming at you with false information and allegations, we handle ourselves in ways that we sometimes regret. I do take full responsibility for my actions and I’m working everyday to repair what I broke. I do know that if I’m ever given the opportunity to play the game that I love, I’m going to work extremely hard to show the world how much I appreciate another chance. To the organizations that I offended, I offer my sincere apology to you and my hope is that you forgive me and help me move on from this minor setback. I look forward to competing and helping a team reach their goals.
This obviously is a situation worth monitoring. It’s hard to say at this point whether this is a last-ditch effort to get back in good graces, or perhaps it could be a sign that a move for Brown is imminent.
If the past few months are any indication, we won’t have to wait long before something else happens with Brown.
UPDATE (2:33 p.m. ET): Patriots quarterback Tom Brady liked the post. So, maybe that’s something. Maybe not.
