Antonio Brown’s career with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is over. After leaving the field topless in the third quarter, Brown was released by the Buccaneers. But why did he do it? No one really knows yet. Rumours abound, though.
Munich/East Rutherford – It was one of the most bizarre scenes the NFL has produced in recent years.
While the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on one side of the field on their way to a comeback against the New York Jets, the bigger action is happening on the other side. Antonio Brown runs topless through the end zone toward the tunnel.
What happened?
The game actually started relatively normally, at least if you ignore the fact that the New York Jets had built a comfortable lead against the Buccaneers and Tom Brady.
Antonio Brown had three catches for 26 yards of space gained and two more balls in his direction that he couldn’t catch until the third quarter.
But then the cameras of the broadcasting station “Fox” caught Brown taking off his vest, throwing it into the audience and piling into the dressing room. He was later spotted outside Metlife Stadium waiting for his Uber driver.
Did he not want to play or should he not play?
What the reasons for this action are, no one really knows. Jay Glazer of “Fox” tweeted that Brown refused to play. According to him, Head Coach Bruce Arians even asked him to play several times. When Brown continued to refuse, Arians sent him to the dressing room.
Allegedly, NFL Insider Ian Rapoport reported on Monday, Brown didn’t think he was fit enough. He was unable to practice Thursday and Friday before the game due to injury. Coaches apparently disagreed.
Other sources claim the exact opposite. Gene Deckerhoff, radio commentator for the Buccaneers since 1989, for example, said Brown was unhappy about being taken out of the game more than once.
Others, among them ran expert Björn Werner, speculate that Arians took “AB” out of the game to prevent better statistics from his number 81. Because: if Brown had had eight more catches, 55 more receiving yards and one more touchdown, he would have received a total of one million dollars in bonuses, each statistic worth exactly 333,333 dollars.
Antonio Brown needed:
8 more catches to unlock a $333,333 bonus.
He also needed 55 receiving yards to unlock another $333,333 bonus.
He also needed just 1 receiving TD to unlock another $333,333 bonus.
This was a costly outburst.
– Spotrac (@spotrac) January 2, 2022
All just a marketing move?
Shortly after Brown moved and left the stadium grounds, he checked in on Twitter. All he did was post a photo of himself in his brand of clothing. He said nothing about the game, the incident or his imminent dismissal.
Shortly afterwards, “AB” released a music video. “Pit Not The Palace” is the name of the track by the receiver, who had already attracted attention musically in the past.
– AB (@AB84) January 3, 2022
In the end, I think only Bruce Arians and Antonio Brown himself know what really went down and why Brown did what he did. Whether Brown will sign another contract this season, or at all in his career, is uncertain.
Comments
No Comments