Antonio Brown’s football career is almost certainly over. And holy Moses, did he go out with a bang. Brown stripped off his uniform and waved goodbye to the MetLife Stadium crowd after having some sort of disagreement with members of his own team late in the third quarter of the Buccaneers-Jets game.
Bruce Arians announced after the game — which the Buccaneers rallied to win — that Brown was no longer part of the team. And just like that, his career in Tampa Bay is over.
Antonio Brown quits on his team
Cellphone video from the stands captured Brown melting down on the sidelines and ripping off his shoulder pads as Mike Evans tried in vain to calm him down. He then took off his undershirt, chucked it, and made the long way down the field, around the end zone, and into the tunnel. He waved to heckling fans as he went, which would be a fitting final image of Brown’s tumultuous career.
Another angle of #Buccaneers players trying to calm AB down.pic.twitter.com/g0bTDNlDdc
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) January 2, 2022
Why did Antonio Brown leave the game vs. the Jets?
We’d give you more context on why if we had any. But the only context that’s needed: It’s Antonio Brown we’re talking about here. The same guy that was traded and cut twice inside of a calendar year. The same dude who just served a three-game suspension for submitting a phony COVID-19 vaccination card — which, by the way, might have been a felony.
Yet, Brown was on the field Sunday thanks to the Buccaneers’ long injury report and Arians’ desire to repeat as Super Bowl champions. Arians gambled that Brown was a changed person. When in truth, he’s the same reckless, irresponsible knucklehead he’s always been.
Are the Buccaneers in trouble without Brown?
And as a result, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Super Bowl hopes are on life support. Chris Godwin and Leonard Fournette are on the injured reserve, and Tom Brady has played poorly for much of the last month.
The Bucs know they’re going to host a playoff game. But the odds of them doing much with that opportunity probably just vanished in the cold New Jersey air.