TAMPA, Fla. — Bruce Arians said he had a brief, but undisclosed, sideline conversation with Antonio Brown during Sunday’s game against the New York Jets.
But the Bucs coach said he still is uncertain what set off the mercurial receiver. Brown took off his jersey and shoulder pads, stripped to the waist and flung his undershirt and gloves into the seats at MetLife Stadium on his way to the locker room.
Arians insisted Brown never mentioned anything about the ankle injury that forced him to miss two days of practice last week.
In fact, he doesn’t know what the flash point was that caused Brown to quit Sunday.
“Not really,” Arians said Monday. “It was pretty obvious what happened. He left the field and that was it. We had a conversation and he left the field.”
Arians said if Brown had an injury concern, there is a process for handling that.
“They go to the trainer and the trainer tells me he’s out,” Arians said. Brown had caught three passes for 26 yards on five targets, including a 21-yarder, before his exit.
Since returning from his three-game suspension for misrepresenting his vaccination status, however, Brown felt he had not received enough support from the team. He believed his relationship with the Bucs organization was fractured.
The Bucs initially were unsure if Brown would play against the Jets after the ankle injury sustained Oct. 14 at Philadelphia continued to bother him. Then he showed up to practice Friday ready to go.
Arians said he had no problem with how Brown had handled his rehab.
“No. None whatsoever,” Arians said. “He was cleared to play (against Carolina), played good. Cleared to play (against the Jets).”
In short, Arians doesn’t know what set Brown off enough to leave the team in the middle of Sunday’s game. Members of the coaching staff told the Tampa Bay Times they overheard Arians ask Brown to go into the game and he refused.
Arians said he doesn’t regret signing Brown after he had served his eight-game suspension in 2020 or sticking with him after the fake vaccine card incident.
“No, I have no regrets. I just hope the best for him,” Arians said. “It’s very hard. I wish him well. I hope if he needs help he gets some. It’s very hard because I do care about him.”
According to Spotrac, Brown was close to earning nearly $1 million total in performance incentives for catches, receiving yards and touchdowns. To reach all of them, Brown needed only eight receptions for 55 yards and one touchdown in this week’s regular-season finale against Carolina.
The Bucs certainly didn’t cut him to save money. A year ago, they ran a couple pop passes at the end of a game so Brown could hit a $250,000 bonus.
