Antonio Brown effectively quit on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during their Week 17 clash against the New York Jets. The embattled wide receiver was seen removing his pads on the sideline and throwing some of his clothing into the stands. He then proceeded to gallop across the end zone, in the middle of a live play, while waving at the crowd and showing them peace signs. Brown was later photographed waiting for a ride outside of the stadium in street clothes, and FOX Sports' Jennifer Hale reports that Brown was given a police escort to the airport in New Jersey after leaving the stadium.
Hale gave a detailed account of what went down on Tampa's sideline prior to AB's bizarre outburst, before revealing that he left the stadium via a police escort, which was set to take him to the airport. Hale also noted that Brown is refusing to contact the organization at this time, leaving the Buccaneers relatively clueless as to his whereabouts — not that he's their problem anymore.
In the aftermath of Brown's dramatic outburst on Sunday, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians told reporters that the wide receiver had been released from the franchise, and would no longer be a member of the franchise. It wasn't a particularly surprising decision from the team, given that Brown had been on thin ice since arriving in Tampa Bay last year.
This marks the end of AB's tenure with the Buccaneers, and it crashed just as spectacularly as it began. Bringing Brown to the team was an ordeal in and of itself, but the team dealt with the criticism and managed to win a Super Bowl with AB. After a couple of flare-ups this year, culminating in his outburst on Sunday, Brown's time with the Bucs has run its course.