There probably is only a handful of teams across the NFL capable of handling Antonio Brown.
Brown, who’s been out of the league since last September, has accumulated quite a bit of baggage and likely would need an ideal situation in order to thrive. It’s unclear if the Seahawks have any interest in the problematic pass-catcher, but former NFL defensive lineman Marcus Spears seems to believe Seattle might be able to make it work with AB.
“…I kind of see it with Pete Carroll based on the players that have played for Pete Carroll, what I’ve heard and what people have talked about,” Spears said Monday on ESPN’s “Get Up.” “He allows you that opportunity to be yourself. Now, obviously, AB has to make individual changes and he has to make decisions based on what’s best for everyone around him. But with that being said, if I looked in the NFL and you were to ask me, ‘Gimme a number of coaches that can deal with guys that are different’ — we’ll leave it at that — Pete Carroll would be one of those names in that list of guys that can kind of get on dudes’ levels and relate to them because that’s what I’ve heard from his players.
“…I would be super interested to see how that relationship would develop over time. I think Pete would figure it out, though.”
The Seahawks clearly aren’t afraid to take on players with a checkered past. While Josh Gordon’s tribulations are much different than Brown’s, Seattle took a chance on the former last season after his falling out with the New England Patriots. Gordon appeared in five games with the Seahawks before earning another indefinite suspension for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy for the fifth time in his career.
The addition of Brown, who turns 32 in July, potentially could make for a near-unstoppable wideout trio in Seattle alongside Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf. But as tantalizing as that might be for the Seahawks, the cons probably outweigh the pros.