Antonio Brown Is Only Hurting Himself
Since Antonio Brown did jumping jacks off the field against the New York Jets, he’s been putting things out and seemingly talking his side of the story. While he may think it’s helpful, it’s only hurting his potential case.
One thing Brown put out was him seemingly cutting ties with Alex Guerrero, and if you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know who that is, he’s Tom Brady’s guy. Antonio Brown posted an Instagram story of text messages with Guerrero, which showed Brown asking Guerrero for money back that Brown paid for services he seemingly did not receive. After that we see Guerrero being very compliant, thanking Brown for the chance to work with him, wishing him the best, and telling Brown to let him know where to send the money. The only thing interesting is the date, December 24th.
So, what does this prove? This, in my eyes, shows that Brown was cutting some ties before the New Year even started. I don’t know if Brown got his money back, I don’t know what conversations occurred before this, but based on what I can see, I see nothing that helps Brown and only things that hurt it.
Another part was Brown saying he was too hurt to play, there are a few issues in this story. Firstly, we saw Brown shredding DBs with routes. Secondly, Brown never went to any of the medical staff. In football, if a player is hurt is suspected of having an injury that is the duty of the medical staff, not necessarily the coach. The coaches learn from the medical staff if a player can play or not. Brown never went to the medical staff and just stormed off the field. Had he talked to the medical staff, and then underwent further testing in the locker room it’d be a different story. Also, Ariens later said that Brown and Mike Evans were both on “pitch counts,” which shows his concern for his player’s health and safety. However, Brown’s course of action makes it incredibly difficult to believe that medical reasons were the cause of this.
Also, don’t both with the incentives angle. When Brown asked the Buccaneers for his incentives to be guaranteed, he was 28 catches, 255 yards, and three touchdowns away. This year Brown has been targetted more than last year (9.5 targets per game this year compared to 7.75 last year) per Spotrac. When they called the personnel group Brown usually plays in on Sunday, Brown didn’t come and Bruce Ariens said he saw Brown wave off the coach. Ariens approached Brown, and Brown said “I ain’t playing, I ain’t getting the ball.” Ariens responded by saying “You’re done, get the F out of here.” (Per a press conference clip from Dov Kleiman) The Buccaneers, and Brady, were trying to get Brown his money. Then he just left.
The Antonio Brown saga continues (when have we ever said that before?), and it will presumably get messy. Brown put out his entire story, and it’s easy to poke holes in it. I don’t know if he’ll take legal action. With all of this, and with Brown missing multiple appointments with outside specialists about his ankle according to a statement from the Buccaneers, it’s hard to see Brown having a real case at all.
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