The NFL league day has now passed. For the second consecutive day, Antonio Brown remains a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Once the league announced its official transactions Tuesday afternoon, there was no mention of the seven-time Pro Bowler being released by the Buccaneers.
This comes roughly 48 hours after Brown made a spectacle of himself by quiting on the defending champs mid-game against the New York Jets on Sunday.
The story itself is bonkers in nature. Brown left the sideline during said game, took off his jersey and headed for the locker room. Once the game was over, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians noted that Brown was no longer a member of the organization.
We now have to ask ourselves what the Buccaneers are waiting on here? Arians made it more than clear he has no intention of keeping Antonio Brown on the team. Other players pretty much talked about the enigmatic receiver in the past-tense, meaning that they view him as a former member of the Buccaneers.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers preventing Antonio Brown from joining another team?
NFL insider Josina Anderson added some more fodder to this belief earlier on Tuesday.
“If Antonio Brown wants a job on another team in the NFL, he can have one. That is not an opinion. That is what I know,” Anderson noted on social media.
On the field, there could be some truth to this. If the Buccaneers opt to release Brown, he’d hit the waiver wire. Boasting a mere salary of $3.1 million this season, taking on Brown wouldn’t be a financial commitment for an interested team. Said interest would also be limited to playoff contenders and based off record.
A quick look at the NFL waiver wire, and it’s easy to conclude that the Bucs could be holding off on releasing Brown in order to avoid him joining a rival playoff team in the NFC.
- New Orleans Saints
- Philadelphia Eagles
- San Francisco 49ers
Two of these three teams will make the playoffs with Philadelphia having already clinched a spot. That would technically leave it up to the Saints or 49ers making a play for Antonio Brown. Of course, this is only under the guise of Tampa Bay holding off on releasing Brown so he doesn’t join an NFC Playoff rival.
On the field, it’s a lot more complicated. Sure Brown has proven himself to be extremely productive (87 receptions, 1,028 yards past 15 games). Even then, it’s hard to imagine a team taking a chance on him given the events from this past Sunday.
However, it’s certainly something to watch as this situation continues to play out.