Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians immediately said Antonio Brown was no longer a member of the team following Tampa Bay’s Week 17 win over the New York Jets, and the receiver’s shirtless in-game exit.
It’s now been two days and Brown, who did not travel home with the team and instead stayed in New York and attended an NBA game, remains a member of the Buccaneers.
Well, what gives?
Various reports have surfaced noting Tampa Bay’s reasoning behind not yet releasing Brown, but with that said, nobody expects Brown to remain with the organization when it’s all said and done. It’s essentially coming down to the Bucs having everything in order behind the scenes.
There are multiple reports that Tampa Bay is in negotiations with the NFL and the NFLPA to determine which designation the Bucs could use on Brown for, as the Washington Post’s Mark Maske put it, “player-personnel purposes.” That could mean the Buccaneers are looking to prevent Brown from becoming a free agent while still not using up a spot on Tampa’s roster. Maske further noted how there was no consideration by the NFL of league-imposed discipline, which shouldn’t come as a major surprise given that Brown’s antics were more embarrassing to the team than anything against the personal conduct policy.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter essentially confirmed those reports Monday by sharing how Tampa Bay was having “ongoing discussions” with the league about how to move ahead in the situation. Schefter did not say anything along those lines Tuesday while reporting that Brown did not show up in NFL transactions.
There’s also been speculation, as noted by Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio, that the Buccaneers could suspend Brown for conduct detrimental to the team which would cost Brown four games before Tampa Bay had to make another move.
There’s also some thought — maybe more far-fetched? — that the Buccaneers may not have released Brown as a way to keep him from joining another roster with the NFL playoffs nearing. Of course, that would only happen if another team opts to sign Brown (if he’s released and becomes free agent), which would be, at the very least, a public relations nightmare for that organization.
The process of getting it right clearly is important to Tampa Bay, and for good reason. Given what Brown’s camp is saying about the reasoning behind his third-quarter departure — his camp is saying he wasn’t fully healthy and did not want to re-enter Sunday’s game due to an ankle injury — it seems possible the receiver, especially considering who we’re talking about, could file some sort of grievance with the league and cite the injury.
For all intents and purposes, though, Brown won’t take the field for the Buccaneers ever again.
