Why Bucs’ Bruce Arians Ultimately Changed His Tune On Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown and Bruce Arians have had an interesting history, to say the least.

The two worked together early in Brown’s career when Arians served as the Steelers’ wide receiver coach. And Arians wasn’t too fond of Brown or his attitude during their shared time in Pittsburgh.

So when Arians was asked if he had any interest in brining Brown aboard after the Bucs picked up Tom Brady in March, his answer was pretty predictable: A big, fat no.

But it appears Tampa’s head coach has changed his tune, and FOX NFL insider Jay Glazer got the scoop as to why.

“This was pretty unlikely going into the season,” Glazer said Friday. “He has a history with Bruce Arians. It’s not a great history. I actually just got off the phone with Bruce. And early on when Brady signed with the Bucs, he did bring up Antonio Brown. But back then, Bruce Arians told him an emphatic ‘no’ unless their wide receiver core got injured.

“What’s happened? (Chis) Godwin’s been hurt. Mike Evan’s been hurt. Obviously, tight end O.J. Howard went down. So, that changed things, according to Bruce. He said, ‘I was open to it if guys were banged up, and, well, all of our guys are banged up.'”

Fair enough.

It certainly will be interesting to see how Brown and Arians mesh this time around. Considering Brown left a sour taste in Arians’ mouth the last time they worked together. However, things definitely could get interesting down in Tampa.

Brown’s suspension ends after Week 8.