Enjoying their bye week, the Indianapolis Colts are looking at ways they can better themselves as they prepare for a tough road ahead in their second-half schedule. Some may believe that could come in the form of signing free agent wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Brown, who is currently serving an eight-game suspension, is eligible to sign with a team following the Week 8 games. The Colts are certainly a team in need of wide receiver help with Parris Campbell on the injured reserve list and Michael Pittman Jr. having missed time with a leg injury. All of that to go with T.Y. Hilton not being used as a true WR1.
But as the Brown sweepstakes begin soon—the Seahawks are among a few teams reportedly interested—should the Colts be a team that makes a push for the 32-year-old?
Simply from a football perspective, any team with a question mark at the wide receiver position has to raise awareness to the fact that Brown would likely be an upgrade in the current room.
But we can’t only look at this from a football perspective. There are so many moving parts and off-field aspects to consider when making a point for or against signing a polarizing player like Brown.
Pros
On the field, Brown is an elite talent. Even at the age of 32 and having played just one game since the start of 2019, Brown is capable of elevating a wide receiver room significantly. He would pick up the Colts offense quickly and make a huge difference for Philip Rivers and the Colts passing game.
Before his off-field issues clouded the outlook of his career, Brown was on his way to surefire Hall of Fame production. From 2011–2018, Brown averaged 102.6 receptions, 1,380 receiving yards and 9.3 touchdowns per season. That included four consecutive All-Pro nods from 2014–2017.
So even with the time off from the playing field, Brown would provide the Colts an upgrade at a position in which they need a lot of help.
Cons
This is where the signing of Brown has it’s strongest arguments. Even with his elite talent, there are potentially massive problems to deal with when bringing in the former sixth-round pick.
Right off the bat, Brown was suspended in July for violating many of the league’s personal conduct policies. He has been the subject of sexual misconduct allegations in 2017, pleaded no contest to felony burglary with battery charge and two lesser misdemeanor charges and was accused of sexually assaulting his former trainer.
Yeah, it hasn’t been a good look for Brown off the field during the last year or so. There was also the entire incident with the Raiders, who traded a third and fifth-round pick to acquire him from the Steelers in 2019, only to release him before the season.
The Colts are constantly talking about the type of culture they want to build and even though they might feel the locker room is better equipped to handle a risky signing, it shouldn’t come in the form of Brown.
As the Colts give so much praise to their players being unselfish, it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense to try and force Brown into the mix simply because they might be able to make a playoff run.
Verdict
While the sight of Brown running routes in a Colts uniform might increase the Colts’ playoff odds, the signing would be far too risky. There’s no guarantee that Brown would fit seamlessly into the culture the Colts have worked so hard to create in recent years and with so much going on off the field, signing Brown wouldn’t make sense for Indy.
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