Buccaneers: It’s time to stop fidgeting about Antonio Brown in Free Agency
Don’t worry about Antonio Brown.
Antonio Brown is the last of the “big name” players left on the outside in the Buccaneers free agency pool. All, and I do mean everyone, who was critical to the Bucs’ run to Super Bowl LV victory has already signed with the team to “run it back”. But Brown, for who knows what reason, remains on the outside.
There are plenty of teams across the league that would love a receiver of Brown’s talents. But what AB chooses to do is all up to him. If he wants another shot at an SB victory, would he be better off with the Bucs or the field?
At this point, Tampa needs to start paying attention to their draft selection board. They need to decide what they want to do with pick 32 and not worry about AB. If AB chooses not to come back to the fold, it’s OK. There are plenty of wide receivers already on hand who can pick up the slack.
Scotty Miller is more than adequate to replace AB. He and Brady have developed some chemistry, and all anyone needs to do to remember that is rerun that last-second bomb he hauled in from Brady with one second left in the first half of the NFC title game. Anyone who is a serious Bucs fan knows that this was not just a fluke play. There were at least three times last season when Brady to Miller netted long TDs.
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Also, Tyler Johnson is just sitting back and waiting his turn. Who can forget that pass he snared when he was on the ground and had to reach back to nab the ball? Could Brown do that? Probably yes, but Johnson is a younger player earning much less. At 6’2”, he is also a big target.
While AB was a nice pickup to help Tampa on its 2020 Super Bowl run, he’s replaceable. And, he’s replaceable by players already on the roster.
Who knows what AB is thinking? Pulled out of purgatory by Tom Brady, one would think he owed Tom something for getting him another chance. And then, during the regular season, TB Tom ensured that AB would take home some bonus money by getting him to the 45-catch threshold for a cool $500K. That came at the cost of Ronald Jones potential first 1,000-yard season. It’s not to say feeding Brown was right or wrong, but that ought to give Brown some food for thought.
There’s no question that other teams need some offensive assistance if they want to get back into contention. Signing Brown would provide an immediate boost for most of the teams in the league, as he would have a player who can rip the top off the defenses.
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It’s just one of those deals where you have to make a decision—should I stay or should I go? Ultimately, it’s Brown’s decision to make. The Bucs don’t need to worry about what he decides to do. If he chooses to stay in Florida, then so be it. But if he decides things are better (for him) in Seattle, then that’s fine too. Oh, and by the way, here’s your SB LV ring.