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Former Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown has been very undecided as to whether he wants to play the game of football anymore. On the wrong side of 30, Brown has said he is done, and that he wants to return, all in the course of a week.
His overall frustration was with how the NFL is seemingly dragging its feet over disciplinary actions he is facing if, or when, he decides to get back into the league.
Per Robert Klemko of the Washington post, if a team wants to take a flier on Brown, he will have to sit out a half of the season, eight games.
Antonio Brown (free agent) is being suspended for 8 games for violation fo the NFL personal conduct policy, beginning whenever he signs, per league source.
— robertklemko (@RobertKlemko) July 31, 2020
ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting if Brown were to sign with a team during the preseason he would still be eligible to participate in training camp before sitting out the first eight games.
If Antonio Brown is signed before the start of the 2020 season, he would be eligible to participate in his club's preseason activities. Brown's suspension would take effect as of final roster reduction on September 5. He would be eligible to return after the team's eighth game. https://t.co/6oB5M5stmc
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 31, 2020
While Brown recently settled his off field accusations, there is still the sexual assault allegations which have yet to be decided. This could dictate if a team is even willing to give Brown a shot, even if he still has all the talent in the world.
There have been several reports of teams showing interest in Brown, the Seahawks and Ravens being the most consistent within the rumor mill.
There is little doubt of the ability Brown brings to the table to any NFL team. Brown has led the NFL in receiving yards twice in his career with 1698 yards in 2014 and 1533 in 2017. In his last full season, Brown had a league-leading 15 touchdown receptions in 2018 despite the fact he sat out of the Steelers Week 17 games against the Cincinnati Bengals. The bigger question would be if Brown is worth the risk of bringing him into the locker room part way through what would already be an extremely strange season.
Now that teams know what they are dealing with when it comes to Brown’s availability, the next step would be to see if someone takes flier on him and what the contract would be.
Get your popcorn ready.