Even with his obvious on-field talent, it is looking like Antonio Brown’s demeanor and off-field issues will have NFL teams staying well away from him this year. But should one of them take the plunge before the season begins, they would do so with the knowledge they will only be getting the off-field version for the first half of the season.
The former All-Pro receiver was notified today by NFL Special Counsel Todd Jones that he has been slapped with an eight-game suspension to begin Week 1 of this season.
Brown was traded by the Steelers to the Raiders in the 2019 offseason for a third and fifth-round pick. A series of incidents including missing camp with a mysterious foot skin issue and refusing to use an NFL approved helmet caused friction between him and Raiders’ general manager Mike Mayock. Ultimately, it led to Brown threatening to punch Mayock at practice and demanding to be released. The Raiders obliged and Brown signed on with the Patriots.
After one game, sexual assault allegations arose by one of Brown’s former trainers and the Patriots cut ties as well.
The suspension has mostly to do with Brown’s actions since then, including several domestic incidents at his home in Hollywood Florida, some involving his wife and children, and one involving a moving truck driver who was delivering his stuff to him, but he refused to pay. Brown and his trainer then attacked the driver, leading to felony burglary and battery charges.
Hard to imagine any team willing to take on that headache at this point. The Raiders took that plunge and ended up getting burnt badly. They never got a single snap out of Brown, while his antics were a huge distraction and releasing him left them without a viable number one receiver all season.
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