Antonio Brown's recklessness forced Buccaneers to release WR, claims NFL insider

New Orleans Saints v Tampa Bay Buccaneers
New Orleans Saints v Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The Antonio Brown drama may only be getting started. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially released the receiver Thursday following him storming off the field last Sunday and effectively quitting.

Brown's case all along was that he had an ankle injury and could not play through the pain on Sunday. So, according to Brown, head coach Bruce Arians told him to get out.

New information came out Thursday, courtesy of ESPN NFL insider Adam Schefter. He sent out several tweets explaining a new angle on the situation that could explain why Brown was so upset.

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Schefter explains how Brown requested that his remaining incentives, worth $2 million, be guaranteed. Could that explain why he was upset after limited targets on Sunday? That is possible, but it should also be noted that Schefter's information is coming from Buccaneers GM Jason Licht. So this is officially Tampa Bay's side of the story.


Further information on why Antonio Brown stormed off on the Buccaneers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers v New York Jets
Tampa Bay Buccaneers v New York Jets

Per Licht, Brown did not in fact tell anyone about his nagging injury. That directly contradicts Brown's sharing of text messages that claim Arians knew about the issue all along.

The Buccaneers have now claimed they had no knowledge of Brown's ankle injury. They then reportedly tried to get their own evaluation in, to no avail.

Schefter continues to note that all of this information is coming from Licht. While some fans may still only believe Brown's side of the story, it is important to hear how the Buccaneers view the situation. The team is even claiming that Brown is refusing to undergo tests to see just how bad his ankle is at the moment.

Brown is sticking by his claim that the team knew he was injured and he was too hurt to continue playing Sunday. The Buccaneers say Brown never revealed this information. They also state that his contract incentives played into why he stormed off the field.

That has both sides on opposite ends of the discussion and it is hard to think about any resolution taking place here. Cutting Brown means he can play elsewhere if a team takes him, and the Buccaneers can just move on.

Tampa Bay needed to share their side because with what Brown said, the NFL may need to launch an investigation. This may still take place as this situation only gets messier with each passing hour.

NFL fans are now waiting for Brown to respond to all of this messaging from his former team.


Also Read: "Seems odd Bruce Arians opens with 'This is BA'" - NFL fans left questioning the authenticity of screenshots shared by Antonio Brown

Tampa Bay Buccaneers Fans! Check out the latest Tampa Bay Schedule and dive into the Tampa Bay Depth Chart for NFL Season 2024-25.

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Edited by Jay Lokegaonkar
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