Antonio Brown wants to return to the NFL and he now knows which team should sign him. The former New England Patriots and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver was on The Mike Calta Show and said he wants to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers so he can play with Tom Brady who signed with the team on Friday. Brown said he’s been texting Brady and he praised head coach Bruce Arians.
“He’s one of those guys that have befriended me,” Brown said on the show via TMZ. “One of my close friends around the NFL.” Brown went on to say that he and Brady remain close despite him being released by the Patriots after the second week of the 2019 season. When Brady signed with the Bucs, Brown said, “I congratulated him, wished him well.”
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There were reports of Brady wanting to play alongside Brown this year and it was also reported that teams who were interested in Brady were under the impression he wanted them to also sign Brown. Arians talked about the seven-time Pro Bowl receiver on the Adam Schefter Podcast and he has his concerns.
“I’ve heard so many stories — I like Antonio — he plays as hard as anybody on Sunday, and he practices hard. He’s just gotta make better decisions off the field, be on time, do some of those little things,” Arians said.
Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network said Arians is not interested in bringing in Brown. But he also said that Brady would love to play with Brown again because of how close they are.
“No, there’s definitely some sense that Tom Brady would want to bring Antonio Brown with him,” Rapoport said. “This from some of the other teams that were potentially in the mix. What really wasn’t a secret Brady and AB have remained close. My understanding is this is not something that Bruce Arians is in favor of. He’s had Antonio Brown before. He had him a couple of years in Pittsburgh. Does not sound like it went well. This does not seem to be like the direction that the Bucs would be going.”
Even if Brown doesn’t sign with the Bucs, Brady will be working with a talented set of receivers in Mike Evans and Chris Godwin each recorded 1,000 yards last year.
