Antonio Brown #81 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers watches a game against the New York Jets during the game at MetLife Stadium on January 2, 2022 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
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Antonio Brown is no longer a Tampa Bay Buccaneer, head coach Bruce Arians said, after the player generously left the field in Sunday’s 28-24 win over the New York Jets.
Brown stripped off his shoulder pads and jersey, ran across the back yard and headed to the team’s locker room midway through the third half of Sunday’s game at MetLife Stadium.
The Buccaneers had a 24-10 lead at the time and were driving down the field at the time of the offense, but Brown was not among the players in the game.
Asked about Brown during his post-match press conference, Arians said: “He’s not Buc anymore. That’s the end of the story.”
According to the FOX broadcast, Brown was “boiling” about something and couldn’t convince himself to stay with the sideline team.
The recipient, Mike Evans, tried to stop Brown from removing his shoulder pads, but to no avail.
Brown was seen standing in the back yard, signaling “peace” to the crowd, while the teams were playing on the other side of the field.
Brown had three tackles with five targets within 26 yards by the time he left. He has 42 catches for 545 yards and four touchdowns in seven games this season.
The 33-year-old has had a string of off-field incidents, distractions and legal troubles since the start of his career with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Most recently, Brown was suspended for three games by the NFL this season for falsifying a COVID-19 vaccine card.
Brown spent the first half of the 2020 season suspended for multiple violations of the NFL’s personal conduct policy. He turned himself in to police in Florida in January 2020 on charges of battery, theft of an unoccupied vehicle and mischief.
He was released by the New England Patriots after a game in 2019 due to allegations of sexual misconduct and threatening text messages sent to his accuser. New England picked Brown after he was released by the Oakland Raiders before he played in a game due to much controversy.
