Buccaneers: The lack of Antonio Brown news is a good sign

Antonio Brown returning to the Buccaneers is growing more likely by the day.

Free agency came like a tidal wave. Plenty of crazy moves have happened across the NFL, and the Buccaneers have been huge winners so far. With their big three returning for 2021, they can now turn their sights to players like Antonio Brown.

Brown is a luxury signing at this point. The Bucs aren’t flushed with cash, despite their very team-friendly cap management, and they will need to keep some money on hand for rookies and depth signings in the coming weeks.

The Buccaneers don’t need Brown to remain one of the best teams in the NFC, but him coming back sure wouldn’t hurt.

Antonio Brown is overkill for the Buccaneers

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With Brown on the roster last year, Tampa Bay has the best trio of receivers in NFL history. This group made Tom Brady’s life substantially easier in a new environment, and Brown can clearly play at a higher level than most of the other receivers on the roster.

While many fans would like to see someone like Scotty Miller or Tyler Johnson step into that third role, Brown is still the best option, but the Bucs will have to make a deal if they want to keep him. Fortunately, no news on the AB front is good news.

If Brown were a priority option, he would already be on a new team. Teams like the Texans and the Seahawks that are desperately trying to keep their franchise quarterbacks happy would generate plenty of good faith by bringing in an All-Pro receiver like Brown. The fact that they haven’t tells us all we need to know.

While there are plenty of good teams across the league that could use a starting-caliber receiver, they would’ve made a move by now if there was a large market for Brown. Apparently, the character concerns are too significant for other teams to take on, but that works perfectly for the Bucs.

Brown caused zero distractions and was an ideal teammate on the Buccaneers. Perhaps this was the Brady factor, but it also comes down to the player leadership and the coaching staff. The veterans and the coaches with the Bucs hold Brown to the highest level, and he has given no reasons to consider him a distraction at this point in his career.

The old AB is effectively gone, at least in Tampa. While other teams may be scared to take a chance on a player like him, this just gives the Bucs more time to make sure that Brady keeps one of his favorite targets.

The Buccaneers still have plenty of key players to sign, but each passing day makes the likelihood of Brown remaining for another ring greater.

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