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Here’s some news that will probably shock absolutely no one: at least 20 teams, including many in the hunt for a playoff spot, are reportedly seriously interested in signing troublesome wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Brown, who will turn 32 next July, averaged an eye-popping 114 receptions per season over the past six seasons prior to this one, and NFL general managers just can’t help themselves – especially since they think they might be able to get him on the cheap after this season’s ongoing public meltdown.
According to three general managers who spoke to Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report, the only potential playoff team they believe to not have interest in Brown is the New England Patriots.
Freeman reports that while many teams are bothered by Brown’s many off-the-field legal issues, team executives are even more bothered by all of the negative social media activity Brown continues to put forth.
“There are teams disgusted by what he’s doing,” one AFC general manager said.
Still, the GM admitted, “He is drawing a lot of interest, [but] a lot of teams wish he would just shut up.”
If Brown could just stay off Twitter and stop doin’ it for the ‘Gram, every team would eventually try to sign him, the same GM said. That’s how valuable he is to many franchises.
On Thursday, Brown testified again in the lawsuit that was filed against him for damage caused to a Miami apartment – basically a do-over the previous deposition he gave where it was reported that he acted like a “belligerent” child..
Brown is also still embroiled in a sexual assault lawsuit that the NFL claims it is “investigating.”
That “investigation” is pretty much the only thing stopping Brown from being signed by an NFL team, according to the general managers who spoke to Freeman.
Until the NFL comes to a conclusion, Brown is essentially serving an unpaid, unannounced suspension. (Several team sources believe that when the NFL does decide, Brown will be officially suspended by the league for at least six games. Other team sources believe the punishment will be even longer—maybe as long as an entire season.)
Still, if these general managers are correct, the moral of the Brown story (as it stands) will be an old one: Talent matters, alleged crimes…not as much. How things appear, especially regarding social media posts, may matter as much as how things actually are. Teams want players to shut up and play football. Nothing more.
So, basically, NFL GMs aren’t so concerned about Brown potentially being a criminal as they are about him embarrassing them on social media. If he can just refrain from doing that he won’t have any problem finding a job in the NFL.
Sounds about right.