Antonio Brown added some fuel to the fire that's currently being huddled around by those who believe Tom Brady continues to defend the trouble receiver just because of what he can do on the field.
Brown has spent the week burning bridges left and right following his falling out with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Despite Brown going after Brady's longtime business partner and trainer Alex Guerrero, the Bucs quarterback has stayed relatively quiet other than to offer tacit support for Brown.
Brady has publicly insisted he'll continue to give his "friend" support even though they aren't teammates, but an upcoming podcast appearance from Brown raises questions about just how committed Brady would be to helping his now-former wideout.
"It's nothing personal, man," Brown said on an episode of the "Full Send Podcast" released Friday. "Tom is actually my friend, one of my close friends. ... Some people have a different definition of friend. Because when I say you call me a friend, that means I got your back. To me, though, that's what a friend means. But a friend is not like that in this world and how we living.
"We play professional sports, like, not everybody in sports gonna be your friend. Tom Brady's my friend because I'm a good football player. He need me to play football, right? These guys call me to win the Super Bowl, not for the toilet bowl. They didn't say 'AB, we having problems with the toilet over here in Tampa, you think you could flush the (expletive) down and help us out?' No, they called me and said 'Hey, AB, we need you to win the Super Bowl because Tom Brady saw me come to the Pats and run through those guys. The Patriots run a good system with practice and details and he learned that AB is a professional. No matter what you say about AB, AB put his heart on the line. AB knows the play on fourth down because he was up all night (studying). I can count on him. … But that's on the football field."
Toward the end of the podcast, Brown circled back to a similar thought: "Football is a game. Our business is what? Winning. People love Tom Brady because he's a winner. Tom Brady loves me because I'm a winner. It's not about being friends. It's about relating to people that are winners."
When asked about Brady's greatness and his legacy, though, Brown pushed back, essentially diminishing the quarterback's achievements.
"We talking about principles, and you talk about what makes Tom so good," he said. "Tom can't do nothing by himself. He gotta play on a team, and this is a football game."
What's even more interesting, though, is Brown sounded annoyed with Brady and the QB's role -- or lack thereof -- in getting him a better contract.
"If Tom Brady's my boy, how come I'm playing for an earning salary?" he said. "(Rob) Gronkowski is his boy, right? How much does he get paid? So why is AB on a prove-it deal? Who's better than me over there? Let's be real. Let's be honest: Who is the best guy over there? … Playing football, receiver-wise, who is the guy who gets it popping?
" ... It's not about being a fan, it's about being a realistic human. That's what it's about, bro. Brady can't do (expletive) by himself. We all humans, bro. We all depending on someone else to do a job. … "
Brown also diminished the perceived efforts by Brady to help Brown away from the football field.
"How'd he help me?" he said. " … Guys do that to influence you in the public to be like, 'Oh, he's at Tom's house? Then he must be a good guy.' But I thought I was a good guy. I'm a great football player, that's why you guys know me, right?"
On a very obviously related note, Brown -- playing on an incentive-laden deal in Tampa Bay -- clearly believed Brady should have thrown him the ball more.
"Coming off the bench. Does Tom Brady throw me the ball like Ben Roethlisberger?" Brown said on the podcast. "Tom throw me more than Ben? We're not here to debate quarterbacks, we're here to talk about AB and production."
It will be interesting to see if Brady responds at all to Brown's latest rant. He and the Bucs are preparing for the playoffs and another Super Bowl run, so with one distraction gone, it's unlikely Brady creates another.
