Tag: Antonio Brown

Sean Payton: ‘I probably wasn’t telling the truth’ when denying Antonio Brown interest

New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton spoke at length about his team’s interest in working out and maybe signing wide receiver Antonio Brown.

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New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton spoke with the media following the team’s Friday practice session, as well as an earlier workout with six free agent wide receivers including four-time All-Pro Antonio Brown.

When asked why the Saints were hosting Brown on a visit now after having denied any interest in the player back in September. His response speaks for itself.

“Well, I probably wasn’t telling you the truth a few months ago,” Payton admitted. “We’ve done this at other positions (than wide receiver). We’re looking closely all the time at ‘Who are the players available, and how can they help us?’ Especially as we’re getting ready for the postseason.”

Payton added that the Saints don’t plan on signing Brown at this time, and they’re waiting on more information from the NFL office in New York as to whether the wide receiver would be subject to a league suspension due to recent allegations of sexual misconduct made against him. Beyond any legal issues, Brown’s troubling social media activity is also something on the Saints’ radar.

“All of it, all of that goes into a decision like that,” Payton answered when asked whether the team actually monitors what players like Brown are doing, saying, recording, or posting online. “It’s part of the process of bringing a player in.” He noted that he had never had a conversation with Brown before, so Friday’s visit was a big part of their fact-finding mission.

While the Saints haven’t signed Brown yet, the possibility of it happening can’t be ruled out. Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, spoke highly of his meeting with the Saints to ESPN’s Adam Schefter: “Antonio had a very good visit today and we will continue our discussions with the Saints.” This story won’t be going away any time soon.

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Antonio Brown reacts on Instagram to workout with Saints

Antonio Brown took to Instagram amid workout with the Saints.

Former New England Patriots receiver Antonio Brown seems excited to be getting closer to making a return to the NFL.

He met with the New Orleans Saints on Friday for a workout, according to multiple reports. There is no news of a potential contract. The Saints were simply doing their due diligence, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. But Brown celebrated on his many social media channels.

Brown is a free agent after the Patriots released him in September when he faced allegations of sexual assault and rape in a civil lawsuit. The NFL has launched an independent investigation into those accusations to make a ruling on a potential punishment. In the meantime, Brown is eligble to land on the commissioner’s exempt list, which would prevent him from playing.

Upon learning of his workout, Brown celebrated about the prospect of joining New Orleans on Instagram. He went so far as sharing a photo of his workout waiver, which he promptly deleted. Brown also posted a video of himself with Pelicans star Zion Williamson.

Photo from Instagram/AB
Photo from Instagram/AB

His stints with the Oakland Raiders and the Pittsburgh Steelers came to a conclusion due to erratic behavior. In Pittsburgh, he demanded a trade after his relationship with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and general manager Kevin Colbert deteriorated. In Oakland, he missed multiple practices due to foot issues and a helmet grievance before ultimately demanding his release.

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Former Patriots WR Antonio Brown works out with Saints

Antonio Brown is one step closer to getting another chance from the NFL.

Former New England Patriots receiver Antonio Brown and the New Orleans Saints met for a workout on Friday, according to multiple reports. It’s unclear whether a contract will follow. The team is interested in doing its “due diligence,” per ESPN’s Adam Schefter.

Brown has been a free agent since September when the Patriots released him after 11 days with the team. New England parted ways with the receiver after he faced allegations of sexual assault and rape in a civil lawsuit. The team mostly sidestepped the allegations and accusations against Brown while the NFL began an investigation into the incidents.

Because of those allegations, Brown may move to the commissioner’s exempt list, if he lands on a team prior to resolution with the civil suit. The NFL is still working on potential punishment for Brown.

Brown has spent time with the Patriots, Oakland Raiders and Pittsburgh Steelers over the last year. He demanded the Steelers trade him during the 2018 season, which was how he landed with the Raiders. Upon heading to Oakland, he threatened to retire over a helmet grievance with the NFL. The team fatigued on Brown’s incessant drama, and granted him his release upon his request. His temperament has remained volatile on social media, where he has gone on a number of tirades against the NFL.

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Report: Saints one of three teams interested in signing Antonio Brown

The New Orleans Saints are reportedly among three teams interested in signing free agent wide receiver Antonio Brown, a four-time All-Pro.

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Will the New Orleans Saints sign Antonio Brown? It’s possible. Brown is one of several veteran wide receivers who worked out for the team on Friday, giving them an opportunity to compare the four-time All-Pro against some of his peers. Brown has only appeared in one game this season, with a series of off-field issues driving a wedge between him and his NFL prospects.

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported that the Saints are among three teams considering whether to sign Brown, per Brown’s agent Drew Rosenhaus. While the identities of those other two teams are unclear, it’s probably safe to assume that none of Brown’s previous squads — the Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, and New England Patriots — are among them after he thoroughly burnt those bridges.

This information adds a new wrinkle to New Orleans’ decision-making process. What if one of the teams interested in signing Brown is a potential playoff opponent, like the Seattle Seahawks (who reportedly considered him in the past, before adding Josh Gordon)? The threat of Brown being suspended while the NFL investigates two separate sexual assault allegations made against him hangs over the whole situation like the sword of Damocles, but it’s not a sure-thing that he will be suspended during the playoffs.

There’s a very real scenario where Brown signs with a Super Bowl contender and visits the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in the postseason, the same venue he torched with 14 receptions for 185 yards and 2 touchdown catches just a year ago. That may not be a risk the Saints can afford, especially if they like what they’ve learned from Brown enough to sign him anyway.

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Bill Belichick nonplussed by Antonio Brown’s Saints tryout

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick kept his thoughts on Antonio Brown’s tryout with the New Orleans Saints characteristically muted.

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The New Orleans Saints put free agent wide receiver Antonio Brown through a free agent tryout on Friday, sending a ripple effect throughout the NFL. That news eventually reached one of Brown’s former bosses — New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick, who cut Brown after two accusations of sexual assault were leveled against him back in September. Brown responded with a lengthy, explicit social media tirade.

As for Belichick: when asked whether he had a reaction to news of Brown’s workout with the Saints, his first contact with an NFL team since the Patriots released him, the Patriots head coach kept his comments characteristically brief.

“Focused on Miami. Doesn’t really have anything to do with us,” Belichick told NESN’s Doug Kyed.

Brown only played in one game this year with New England, catching 4 of his 7 targets for 56 yards and a touchdown. He also logged one rushing attempt for five yards. The 7.0 yards per target Brown averaged so far in 2019 is the lowest mark of his career, which is probably due to playing with a washed-up quarterback in Tom Brady (who ranks 26th in yards per pass attempt). There’s no doubt Drew Brees (tied for 10th-best) would be an improvement, if the Saints do indeed sign him.

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Why are the Saints bothering with Antonio Brown?

A lack of depth behind Michael Thomas led the New Orleans Saints to put Antonio Brown through a workout with other free agent wide receivers

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The New Orleans Saints sent a shock-wave through the NFL on Friday when they included ex-Pittsburgh Steelers, -Oakland Raiders, and -New England Patriots wideout Antonio Brown among a group of free agents trying out for the team. Well, Brown sent the shock-wave by leaking his workout waiver form on social media.

And that’s the problem with him. His legal battles (and potential league suspension) notwithstanding, Brown is a constant headache on social media who obsesses over letting everyone see what he’s doing with his life. He’s almost a living caricature of what a “diva wide receiver” would look and act like in a movie about professional football players.

Unfortunately, the Saints aren’t in position to overlook him as an option. Michael Thomas has proven to be their only competent wide receiver (and to his credit, he’s more than competent — he’s the best in the NFL) through 16 games. Thomas has hauled in 116 more receptions for 1,277 more yards than the next-best wide receiver (Ted Ginn Jr., who has caught 29 passes for 411 yards). The team’s depth at the position in razor-thin.

It’s not like the Saints didn’t try to address the wide receiver position sooner. They hoped Tre’Quan Smith and Keith Kirkwood would each progress in their second year in the NFL, but Smith has been a ghost for much of the year while Kirkwood went on injured reserve and didn’t return. The Saints gambled that Cameron Meredith was a better bet to return from his knee injury than Willie Snead would be to rebound from a down year, and that blew up in their faces. Rookies Lil’Jordan Humphrey and Emmanuel Butler haven’t shown enough to get off the practice squad. Great as he is on special teams, Deonte Harris is very much a work-in-progress on offense.

And now Thomas is injured. He’s been limited in two days of practice on the Saints injury report, while managing a hand issue. ESPN’s Mike Triplett reported that Brown’s visit is not related to Thomas’ hand injury, characterizing it as more of like the Saints doing their due diligence. That lines up with another report from his ESPN colleague Adam Schefter, who noted that the Saints are trying out multiple free agent wideouts, such as Maurice Harris.

Earlier this week, Saints coach Sean Payton was asked how deep the “ready list” runs for defensive backs — referring to the free agents well-known by the team internally. The Saints were quick to claim Janoris Jenkins on waivers and sign D.J. Swearinger and DeShawn Shead in free agency when injuries struck the secondary, prompting the question. Ironically, Payton’s comments could now extend to the wide receiver room.

Payton said, “Typically, the ready list is players that aren’t on the roster that we’ve got graded and if a game ended Sunday, we could call Sunday night and we feel like we’ve got a pretty clean evaluation on them. I’d say usually four or five deep at various positions. There are four or five tight ends, four or five receivers. You’ve got a list of players that you feel like you know who they are and what they can do or can’t do.”

So this could all just be a fact-finding mission to see if Brown’s body is right, though his behavior appears to be just as chaotic as always. If Brown isn’t moving well in the tryout or shows the Saints something that troubles them, they can move on to the other free agent options they’ve brought in without second-guessing themselves. He’s effectively on a policy of “one-strike, you’re out.”

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Saints working out free-agent WR Antonio Brown

The Saints have chosen to give Antonio Brown a chance, Brown’s personal and professional complications notwithstanding.

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The New Orleans Saints are working out free agent wide receiver Antonio Brown on Friday, the four-time former All-Pro announced from his official Instagram account. His visit was confirmed by reports from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who characterized the meeting as the Saints “doing their due diligence” on the talented but troubled free agent.

Brown wasn’t in New Orleans beyond sundown before he involved the Saints in his always-going social media firestorm, sharing a photo of the text from a confidential free agent waiver form he signed to work out with the team. He later deleted it from his account, though he still confirmed the tryout in another post.

There’s no doubting Brown’s skills on the football field. He’s set records that Michael Thomas has broken this year, and was coveted by all three of the teams he signed with already this year — the Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, and New England Patriots. But Brown’s numerous legal troubles range from unpaid speeding tickets to alleged sexual assault, which the NFL is still investigating. Not to mention the headaches he’s causing on social media.

Because Brown has not been signed with a team since the Patriots cut him, he is not qualified for the Commissioner’s Exempt List. The NFL said earlier this year that, “If he is signed by a club, such placement may become appropriate at any time depending on the status of the investigation.” In other words, Brown is likely to be suspended before the ink dries on any contract he signs, with the Saints or anyone else. Still, this is a situation to monitor as the Saints move forwards without consistent production opposite Thomas at wide receiver.

The Saints, of course, are well aware of what Brown can bring to the field when his head’s on straight. Brown ended his Steelers career with a bang, catching 14 passes on 19 targets for 185 yards and two touchdowns in Week 16 of the 2018 season. This 3-yard touchdown against New Orleans shows how Brown can turn a pick play in a compressed space into a big valley for an easy score. Cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore and P.J. Williams don’t stand a chance against Brown’s elevated awareness of how to create space.

And here, safety Von Bell has to deal with Brown’s fade route that turned back inside when Brown saw Roethlisberger rolling to his right. Immediately, Brown cut back inside and ran a brilliant deep curl under Bell’s coverage.

So, that’s the good side. The other side, and the consequences thereof, remains to be seen.

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Saints working out free agent WR Antonio Brown

The New Orleans Saints worked out WR Antonio Brown, the All-Pro who got himself traded by the Steelers and cut by the Raiders and Patriots.

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The New Orleans Saints are working out free agent wide receiver Antonio Brown on Friday, the four-time former All-Pro announced from his official Instagram account. His visit was confirmed by reports from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport and ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who characterized the meeting as the Saints “doing their due diligence” on the talented but troubled free agent.

Brown wasn’t in New Orleans beyond sundown before he involved the Saints in his always-going social media firestorm, sharing a photo of the text from a confidential free agent waiver form he signed to work out with the team. He later deleted it from his account, though he still confirmed the tryout in another post.

There’s no doubting Brown’s skills on the football field. He’s set records that Michael Thomas has broken this year, and was coveted by all three of the teams he signed with already this year — the Pittsburgh Steelers, Oakland Raiders, and New England Patriots. But Brown’s numerous legal troubles range from unpaid speeding tickets to alleged sexual assault, which the NFL is still investigating. Not to mention the headaches he’s causing on social media.

Because Brown has not been signed with a team since the Patriots cut him, he is not qualified for the Commissioner’s Exempt List. The NFL said earlier this year that, “If he is signed by a club, such placement may become appropriate at any time depending on the status of the investigation.” In other words, Brown is likely to be suspended before the ink dries on any contract he signs, with the Saints or anyone else. Still, this is a situation to monitor as the Saints move forwards without consistent production opposite Thomas at wide receiver.

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Is former Steeler Antonio Brown signing with the Saints?

It looks like Antonio Brown is going to work out for the New Orleans Saints.

It looks like the NFL might be giving former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown another shot. Brown posted this picture on his Instagram of a waiver form giving him permission to workout for the New Orleans Saints. It’s not a contract by any means but this is the first team since Brown was released by the New England Patriots to show any interest in the troubled wide receiver.

Brown has been unemployed for almost the entire season after being traded to the Oakland Raiders by Pittsburgh, then orchestrating his release only to then be released by the Patriots after only one game.

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Antonio Brown is reportedly working out for the Saints. Here’s what we know.

The receiver is in New Orleans.

It didn’t seem possible that free-agent wide receiver Antonio Brown would be back in the NFL this season after a tumultuous 2019 that saw him traded to the Oakland Raiders, cut, signed by the New England Patriots and cut again.

Brown claimed he was done with the league multiple times, but then issued apologies on social media.

And now? On Friday morning, it appears he might not be done with the NFL … although as of publishing, he’s not back yet.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported that Brown is in New Orleans and working out for the Saints. It doesn’t mean he’s signed with them:

Brown tweeted this early Friday morning:

He also posted on his Instagram story a look at what appeared to be a free agent waiver form from the Saints that has since been deleted:

He also posted video from inside the Saints locker room:

What does this all mean? Nothing yet … unless he signs with the NFC playoff contenders.

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