Antonio Brown has ‘matured’
The skillset that Antonio Brown possesses and the ability he has to make any offense instantly more dangerous has never been called into question. His character and ability to stay out of trouble has been.
On Friday, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers decided that it was time to take a chance and give the controversial wide receiver an opportunity. Brown is currently serving an eight-game suspension for multiple violations of the league’s personal conduct policy.
Despite his past issues though, the Buccaneers believe he could really help them out. The team’s head coach Bruce Arians also believes the player has learned from his mistakes.
“I think he’s matured, and I believe in second chances,” Arians said Sunday following Tampa Bay’s win over the Las Vegas Raiders, via ESPN. “Everybody wants to say that Tom picked him. Tom didn’t have anything to do with it. This was something Jason and I had been talking [about] for a couple weeks, ever since the injuries to our other guys. When the time was right, would we see if we could pull the trigger and fit him in to what we want to get done? And we’ll see. If Antonio does what I think he’s gonna do, I think he’s gonna be fine.”
Two different women in the past year have come out and accused Brown of sexual misconduct, which is why his time in New England ended up being so short-lived last season. Bill Belichick and the Patriots’ organization decided that Brown was worth taking the chance on, but the 32-year-old only managed to make one appearance before finding himself in hot water again.
He had four receptions and 56 yards in his one game with the Patriots, all thrown by Tom Brady who Brown will reunite with in Tampa Bay.
“He’s a tremendous football player,” Brady said after Tampa Bay’s game on Sunday, via ESPN. “I played with him for a brief period of time. Looking forward to working with him again, to see what role he can come in [and play]. He’s a very hardworking guy. … We’re all gonna go out there on the practice field and do the best we can do. And we’re gonna see how it all fits together. There’s a lot of hard work ahead. None of it just magically happens. I think we realized that early in the season, we put a lot of new people together, and we’ve gotta figure a lot of things out in a short period of time. We’re fighting against continuity of a lot of other teams, a lot of other coaches. Bruce has had tremendous patience with me, watching me grow in the offense. I totally appreciate that and respect that and feel like I’m getting to a more comfortable place.”
The Buccaneers currently sit at 4-2 and lead the competitive NFC South. They will look to win their third consecutive game when they travel to New Jersey to take on the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium in next week’s Monday night primetime affair.
