The image of Antonio Brown taking off his uniform and running shirtless off the field Sunday at MetLife Stadium will forever remain in the minds of football fans, and it reportedly came after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers already had internal frustrations with the receiver.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport shared on Monday how Brown and the Buccaneers had a deteriorating relationship due to some recent events, including the wideout’s suspension due to originally falsifying his COVID-19 vaccination.
“… But that is not where it started,” Rapoport said of Sunday’s events while appearing on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.” “There’s been a boiling frustration inside the organization about Antonio Brown, his rehab, how much we was paying attention to that, his suspension, how honest he was with them (Buccaneers). Endless issues with Antonio Brown.
“So we saw the end point yesterday with him taking his clothes off and running off the field, but that was certainly not where it started,” Rapoport added. “It looked like this was the way the relationship was going to end anyway. It just ends in more histrionic fashion than maybe we were imagining.”
Rapoport’s caption to the video posted on Twitter noted: “The relationship between the Bucs and Antonio Brown was quietly going the wrong way for some time.”
Overall, that probably shouldn’t come as much of a shock.
Of course, the Buccaneers were angered as Brown was suspended three games by the NFL for using a fake COVID-19 vaccination card. Still, it is interesting Rapoport explained how the relationship was going to end similarly.
Especially after Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians, who previously said he would have a zero tolerance policy with Brown, recently expressed how the team would continue to stick by the wideout. Arians’ comments came just last week.
Brown dealt with an ankle injury prior to the Week 17 game. That ankle injury has been a source of drama itself as Brown’s camp said he walked off the field after being told to enter the game by Arians, despite Brown believing he was not healthy due to the ankle injury. Arians denied that was what led to Brown’s tantrum and ensuing exit from the field. It’s hard to believe that to be the case.
Arians said immediately following Sunday’s game Brown was not a part of the team anymore. Brown, though, hasn’t officially been released with Arians telling reporters Monday that decision would be up to general manager Jason Licht.
But while the details indicating the friction with Brown and the Bucs probably shouldn’t serve as a major shock, the supposed events that took place following the receiver’s exit are quite difficult to imagine.
