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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially cut ties with Antonio Brown on Thursday after he stormed off the field mid-game against the Jets over the weekend. Although AB released a statement claiming head coach Bruce Arians told him to go home because the wideout wouldn't play due to injury, the Buccaneers boss has fired back and set the record straight on what really happened.
One other note to this saga, per Bucs’ sources: At halftime of Sunday’s game against the Jets, Antonio Brown was agitated about not getting the targets he was expecting during the game and had to be calmed down.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) January 6, 2022
This goes completely against what Brown said in his statement from Wednesday but apparently, he was heated because the offense wasn't targeting him enough.
Bruce Arians said Antonio Brown was upset in the lockerroom about targets at halftime. Arians said teammates calmed Brown down but he got upset as soon as he saw the personnel that was going out on the field in the 2nd half – a personnel grouping that they’d been running already.
— Carmen Vitali (@CarmieV) January 6, 2022
Here is the video of the Buccaneers coach explaining more about the situation:
More video of Bruce Arians explaining what happened Sunday, leading to decision to release Antonio Brown. pic.twitter.com/HXmZP5lopj
— Greg Auman (@gregauman) January 6, 2022
Basically, we have two completely different sides of the story here and it's hard to know who to believe. On one hand, Brown is saying Arians was forcing him to play injured, while on the other, Arians told him to go home after he refused to take the field because AB wasn't getting used enough.
For insight on the Buccaneers' Week 18 matchup against the Panthers, listen below:
Either way, it's not a good look for both sides. But, as Arians said, the Buccaneers are putting it in the rearview and moving on. As for Antonio Brown, he'll be looking to recover from his ankle injury and hopefully sign on with another organization in 2022. But, as we've seen through his social media activity, it's far from over.
