Let's Slow Our Roll on Antonio Brown Re-signing with the Bucs

Patrick Smith. Getty Images.

I think it's fair to say, when the Buccaneers re-signed Antonio Brown on a one year deal at a bargain outlet price, I took it about as well as I did Antonio Brown scoring a touchdown in the Super Bowl and winning a ring. Which is to say, I handled it by wallowing in an ocean of anger, resentment and self-pity. 

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Not only were the Bucs the first Super Bowl champion to ever return all 22 starters, they were bringing back a third wideout gifted by the gods who could only be kept from causing all manner of problems on and off the field by the very quarterback he won a title with. And with a full offseason to get further acclimated to the Tom Brady Offense, he'd be likely to put up Pro Bowl numbers. It was the worst of all possible scenarios for those of us who can't stand this (previously) team-killing narcissist. 

I say "was" because it might not be happening. And with everything involving Brown, no one really understands what's going on:

Source - Three weeks after Brown agreed to terms on a return to the Buccaneers, Brown still isn’t part of the roster. Coach Bruce Arians disclosed that Brown had knee surgery on Tuesday, and that he has yet to pass a physical.

So we posed these two questions both to the team and Brown’s agent, Ed Wasielewski. First, did Brown pass his exit physical at the conclusion of the 2020 season? Second, has Brown already taken and failed a physical after agreeing to terms on a deal for 2021?

Both team and agent declined to comment on the situation.

Until Brown passes a physical, he won’t be on the team. It’s hard not to be curious about the timing of the news of Brown’s agreement to return to the Bucs — one day before the 2021 draft began — and the fact that the Bucs traded up in round four to get North Texas receiver Jaelon Darden. A cynic would say that the Bucs struck the deal with Brown the day before the draft so that other teams wouldn’t think they’d be looking to draft another receiver. The fact that they gave up a sixth-round pick to move up to get Darden shows that they definitely were targeting the position. …

If Brown can’t pass a physical, the Bucs will still be fine at the position. Until he does, it’s fair to consider the possibility that maybe the Buccaneers don’t really want him to.

For the record, Jaelon Darden has a lot of promise. He's 5-foot-9, 174 pounds and a burner with good lateral quickness. In my preview of wide receiver draft prospects I had him under "Small School Sleepers" and said "For teams on a budget who don't have the draft capital to go after a Jaylen Waddle, this knock off brand will be a cheap, economical substitute." So good for the Bucs for landing him in the 4th round. 

But could they honestly have made an arrangement with Brown to fake re-sign him just as diversion, so they could sneak up and land Darden when no one expected it? That sounds like a hell of a stretch. And I defy anyone to explain what Brown gets out of it. I mean, picture a guy working in accounts payable and management comes to tell him they're extending his employment contract, but to take unpaid sick leave so the intern can do his job all summer and then in the fall, take his job. As opposed to, I don't know, that guy just going down the street to get paid by some other firm. 

It seems more likely that Brown kept his knee problem to himself until after he got a verbal commitment. And possibly that it's a non-football injury and the Bucs are pissed he tried to slip it by them. And the only reason they're not releasing him is this weird, inexplicable, affection GM Brady has for the guy. Antonio Brown is the lovable stray dog that followed Brady home from school, and he just can't seem to give him up. He's going to be loyal to him, no matter how unhousebroken he is and what kind of a mess he makes of the place. 

Either that or Pro Football Talk is right, and this was the Bucs plan all along. In which case Brown is taking one for the team. Even going without a paycheck to do it. In which case, Brady truly is a worker of miracles.