Report: Bucs reach deal with Antonio Brown, to debut Week 9 vs. Saints

Well, Antonio Brown found a new bridge to burn. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Friday evening that the free agent wide receiver has reached an agreement with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on a one-year contract, reuniting him with Tom Brady and his former Steelers coach Bruce Arians. Arians vehemently denied that Brown would play for his team earlier this year, but must have changed his mind.

Brown is currently serving an 8-week NFL suspension after a series of personal conduct policy violations. He’s set to go on trial in December after being accused of rape by his former personal trainer, which could lead to a longer suspension.

But in the meantime he’ll be making his 2020 debut in the NFL against a team that almost gave him a chance: the New Orleans Saints, who visit Tampa Bay in Week 9. Brown’s late-season tryout in 2019 with the Saints started off on the wrong foot when he brought a video crew along with him to the team facility, and it ended ugly when he released a noxious music video dissing Saints coach Sean Payton. Brown later accused the Saints of inviting him as a publicity stunt. So there’s no love lost there.

Brown last appeared in the NFL with Brady as a member of the New England Patriots, catching 4 passes for 56 yards and a touchdown in a game against the Miami Dolphins. When the Patriots released him after sexual assault allegations surfaced, he publicly feuded with Patriots owner Robert Kraft, eventually offering a tepid apology.

It’s been the same story at every NFL stop for the diva. Brown’s selfish attitude got him traded away from the Pittsburgh Steelers and released by the then-Oakland Raiders, and it hasn’t slowed down yet. How he’ll work out with the Buccaneers — if he ever actually plays for them — is anyone’s guess, but Brady is eager to overlook his streak of occasionally criminal behavior if it helps him win a couple of football games. The Saints will get first look at whatever Brown has to offer on Nov. 1.