Antonio Brown has done plenty of interviews this offseason, and in most of those interviews, the former Buccaneers wide receiver has made it clear that he wants to return to the NFL in 2022.
The problem for Brown is that he comes with some baggage. Aside from causing controversy anytime and anywhere, any team that signs him will also have to worry about his injured ankle.
Brown suffered the injury during the 2021 season and he says it’s the same injury the Buccaneers wanted him to play through when he stormed off the field shirtless against the Jets in January (the Buccaneers have insisted his injury was nothing had to do with the bizarre situation, but Brown says otherwise).
If Brown wants to return to the NFL this year, he’ll likely have his ankle surgically fixed, but apparently he doesn’t want to have it surgically fixed unless a team signs him first. The recipient revealed this information during an interview with TMZ this week.
“I need to get my ankle fixed, but I just want to make sure I get a signing or commitment from a team,” Brown said. “It’s a lot for a man to have surgery without having any idea where you’re going to work or who you’re going to work for.”
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Teams may not be ready to sign Brown unless his ankle gets fixed, but he won’t have it fixed unless he’s signed, so you can probably see the problem here. He basically created the NFL’s version of the chicken-and-egg situation, which will likely complicate any hopes of a return.
If teams don’t call in, it’s not clear what Brown will do, but he definitely wants to play.
“I’m a player first,” Brown said. “I couldn’t take this position without being a footballer. That’s why I never want to take it for granted. I would like to continue my career. I still have a lot of game in me.”
Though Brown thinks he’s talented enough to play for any team, he has admitted that one team he definitely won’t play for is the Buccaneers.
“I don’t think that’s a possibility,” Brown said. “How things were handled. How I was treated in relation to the injury. [They] just couldn’t stand up for my worth. my true worth … But I was grateful for the opportunity and the position I was in, and I made the best of it.
It’s somewhat surprising to hear that Brown says he’s “grateful” for his time in Tampa, if only because he blamed Brady and the Buccaneers for many of his troubles in February.
When a team decides to sign the seven-time Pro Bowler, he believes he can make an immediate impact.
“I still feel like I can put up big numbers and I see what these guys are getting paid,” Brown said. “I just wonder why my worth isn’t maintained as the same.”
Though we haven’t really seen NFL teams show interest in Brown this offseason, the 33-year-old has indicated that he wants to play for either the Dallas Cowboys or the Baltimore Ravens.