On Tuesday, Mike Silver of the NFL Network reported that the Baltimore Ravens were one of the two teams interested in potentially signing embattled wide receiver Antonio Brown.
The Ravens already have Brown's cousin, Marquise Brown, on their roster so Antonio would likely feel right at home in Baltimore fairly quickly.
But that doesn't mean this is something the Ravens should pursue.
Brown is unquestionably a superb talent, and even though he will be 32 years old next month, he can still probably step on the field and instantly re-establish himself as one of the NFL's top receivers.
That's all well and good. However, just because a player is talented does not mean he will have a positive effect on the team or in the locker room.
We have all seen what has been going on with Brown since the end of 2018, when he went AWOL on the Pittsburgh Steelers, demanded a trade, got his wish and was sent to the Oakland Raiders, acted up there, asked for his release, signed with the New England Patriots, acted up again, got cut and, most recently, was hit with 100 hours of community service for allegedly assaulting a moving truck driver in Florida over the winter.
And that is just a fraction of the negative headlines Brown has generated over the last year-and-a-half.
People can change, but Brown has shown absolutely no evidence that he is truly changing his stripes. And that means it would not be a good thing for a young Baltimore locker room that has grown really tight to add the potential headaches Brown could cause into the mix.
Would having Brown around Lamar Jackson be the best idea? Jackson is a great talent and, most importantly, a great person. Right now, it's important to surround him with positive influences rather than corrupt ones.
That doesn't just apply to Jackson, either. It also goes for the rest of the Ravens' young talent, ranging from Brown's cousin Marquise to any other player.
Baltimore won 14 games this past season due much in part to the closeness of the group. Obviously, Jackson's dominance was the primary reason for the Ravens' surge, but the strong locker-room bond this club had also helped translate into on-field success.
Why bring in someone like Brown who could potentially sabotage that?
Brown damaged the Steelers' locker room. He bailed on the Raiders before he even played a game for them. His bad behavior off the field held him to just one game in his tenure with the Patriots.
All of that happened within a span of nine months, and it's not like it was all that long ago, either. As a matter of fact, it was just over nine months ago that New England cut Brown after he sent threatening text messages to a woman in the midst of sexual assault allegations.
And based on how recent Brown's incident with the moving truck driver was, it's very hard to believe that he has suddenly undergone a makeover and is a different person who can step into the Ravens roster and be a leader and not a source of problems and distractions.
Until Brown shows that he is a stable individual who can stay out of trouble, the Ravens are best served keeping their distance, regardless of how tantalizing the idea of a Jackson-Brown tandem is.
