Antonio Brown and Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians reportedly had a disagreement Sunday, and it concluded with the wide receiver losing his job.
The source of Brown’s meltdown at MetLife Stadium, according to multiple reports, was the seven-time Pro Bowl selection refusing to check back into Tampa Bay’s Week 17 game against the New York Jets after Arians told him to. But even as more details about the situation filed in, it still was unclear why Brown was so adamant about not returning to the field.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport offered clarity on that front Monday morning during an appearance on NFL Network’s “Good Morning Football.”
“Midway through the game yesterday, Bruce Arians and the offensive staff told Antonio Brown to go into the game. They believed that he was healthy,” Rapoport said. “Antonio Brown did not believe he was healthy. He had been battling an ankle injury for the last several weeks. Did not practice Thursday, did not practice Friday. I know, personally, I had some doubts whether or not he’d be able to be out there and play. What he told the staff, from what I understand, is that he was not going into the game because, in his mind, he did not feel he was healthy. The response then from the offensive coaches and from Bruce Arians was, ‘If you are not gonna go into the game when we tell you to go into the game, then you cannot be here.’
“At that point, they threw him off the sidelines and then cut him from the team. Bruce Arians announced at the postgame press conference that he is no longer part of the team. They essentially told him that on the sideline, sent him packing, leaving Antonio Brown with a $1 million incentive right within his reach. He was going to get it. He left all of that, left the field and now is no longer a member of the Buccaneers.”
What a difference a few weeks makes. Arians, despite a prior promise, stood by Brown after he was suspended for supplying the NFL with a fake COVID-19 vaccination card. Arians even said he’d done a complete 180 on AB after the wideout built up some sweat equity in Tampa.
But the more things change, the more they stay the same. Brown letting another great opportunity slip away shouldn’t surprise anyone.
