Antonio Brown Reportedly Says He Was Too Injured To Play Versus Jets
Many are wondering why Antonio Brown made such an abrupt exit from Sunday’s (January 2) game against the New York Jets. Now, it’s being reported that injury may have had something to do with it.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver, who had been limited in practice during the week and missed several weeks with an ankle injury, argued with head coach Bruce Arians and the Bucs’ offensive staff over his health and refused to re-enter the game.
"What he told the staff, from what I understand, is that he was not going into the game because, in his mind, he did not feel he was healthy," Rapoport said. "The response then from the offensive coaches and from Bruce Arians was, 'If you are not gonna go into the game when we tell you to go into the game, then you cannot be here.' At that point, they threw him off the sidelines and then cut him from the team."
During the third quarter of Sunday’s game, Brown removed his jersey while on the sideline as the Bucs were losing by double digits and threw most of what he was wearing out into the crowd before exiting the game by running into the tunnel.
After the game, Arians told reporters that AB “is no longer a Buc” and “that’s the end of the story.” Teammate and fellow wide receiver Mike Evans tried stopping the outburst before Brown took it too far but was unsuccessful.
"He had that look in his eye that I haven't seen for a long time," Arians said of Brown after the game.
Antonio Brown signed with the Buccaneers in October 2019 and helped lead the team to its second Super Bowl win in February 2021.
