3 Previous Antonio Brown Incidents Leading Up To His Walk Off
Antonio Brown is one of the greatest wide receivers of the past two decades. However, it’s often his off-the-field behavior that has gotten in the way of him truly living out his true potential.
That changed on Sunday (Jan. 2) when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers standout took on the New York Jets. During the third quarter of the game, Brown removed his jersey while on the sideline as the Bucs were losing by double digits. He would also throw most of what he was wearing out into the crowd and then exited the game by running into the tunnel.
Afterward, Tampa Bay head coach Bruce Arians informed the media that the embattled NFL star was “no longer a Buc,” and it marked what seems to be the last note of an otherwise storied career for Antonio Brown.
The former Pro Bowler has had a myriad of unorthodox behavior over his lengthy career, and below are a few previous incidents that have led to Brown’s implosion on Sunday.
His 2016 Concussion After Being Hit In Cincinnati Bengals Game
While playing for his former team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, during an AFC Wild Card matchup in early 2016, Antonio Brown went up for a pass over the middle with just a few seconds to go in the game. He was hit in the head by Cincinnati Bengals’ linebacker Vontaze Burfict, which led to AB suffering a concussion o a concussion for AB and a targeting penalty for Burfict that would eventually lead to the Steelers winning the game.
However the suffered concussion was probably the more significant outcome of the game for Brown’s career as many attribute that to being the cause and the beginning of a string of odd behavior by him over the next few years.
Departure From Both The Oakland Raiders And New England Patriots Within Six Months
Following a disagreement with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and public lashing of his initial NFL team, the Pittsburgh Steelers traded Brown to the Oakland Raiders on March 10, 2019 for a fifth-round draft selection before the latter signed him to a three-year $5 million deal.
In September of that year, after some behind-the-scenes skirmishes with his team’s management including complaints about the type of helmet he wanted to wear and subsequent social media trashing of his new team, AB was cut. He signed a one-year, $15 million deal with the New England Patriots the same day he cut – only to be let go by the team 12 days later after sexual assault allegations arose from one of Brown’s former trainers.
Previous Antics While Playing For The Buccaneers
While Antonio Brown has been pretty effective for Tampa Bay since signing with the team in October 2020, his time with the team hasn’t always been smooth.
In November 2020, The Hollywood Police Department charged Brown with misdemeanor criminal mischief after he allegedly destroyed a surveillance camera and threw a bike at a security guard shack inside his gated residential community. No charges would be eventually filed, however the NFL conducted a review of the incident.
In December 2021, Brown received a three-game suspension for misrepresenting his vaccination status to the NFL and NFLPA. The Tampa Bay Times reported he’d obtained a fake vaccination card.
