Antonio Brown is a generational talent. But despite his success on the field, he doesn’t possess the “we” mentality that Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy has brought to this locker room.
Not that the Bears were ever really in contention to acquire Brown. They didn’t have the cap space nor the draft capital to do it. Although, when all was said and done, the Oakland Raiders acquired Brown for just a third and fifth-round draft picks.
Even if the Bears were in contention to get Brown, I was never a big fan of the idea. Sure, he’s a guy that instantly makes your offense better. But he’s also someone that, as he’s proven this offseason and late last season, can be detrimental to the chemistry of your locker room.
Look no further than Brown’s latest antics, where he threw former teammate JuJu Smith-Schuster under the bus for no reason whatsoever, other than the fact that he’d been named the Pittsburgh Steelers’ season MVP.
That kind of behavior doesn’t go unnoticed nor excused by former teammates, including the guy he insulted.
That’s also not the type of behavior that Nagy would tolerate in the Bears’ locker room. Look no further than Cody Parkey, who sealed his already uncertain fate by appearing on the Today Show following his missed field goal against the Philadelphia Eagles in the Wild Card playoffs.
“You understand that we always talk about a ‘we’ and not a ‘me’ thing,” Nagy said shortly after. “We always talk as a team, we win as a team, we lose as a team,” said Nagy. “You know, I just didn’t necessarily think that was too much of a ‘we’ thing.”
It’s that kind of toxic behavior from Brown that is a reminder of just how important this “We” mentality that Nagy has preached to his team has become. Where players are more concerned with the team’s success than individual accolades. And where players that don’t want to be a part of that team-first culture should just hit the road.
