Buccaneers receiver Antonio Brown is set to rejoin the team Monday following his three-game suspension for violating NFL/NFLPA joint COVID-19 protocols, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.
The suspension came following a two-week investigation that showed Brown, along with safety Mike Edwards and former receiver John Franklin III, submitted fake vaccination cards. According to SI's Albert Breer, the three players produced cards purportedly from Citrus County, an area about an hour and a half from Tampa to which none of the players had any connection.
The trio was suspended three games without pay by the league and did not appeal the suspension.
The seven-time Pro Bowler has recorded 418 yards and four touchdowns on 28 receptions in five games this season but has not played since suffering an ankle injury in mid-October.
Rapoport, who reported that Brown's future was up in the air following the suspension, also said that Brown has since recovered from the injury and is ready to play. Brown and Edwards continued working out and attending meetings in the team facilities, as allowed during the course of the suspension.
"It's just a matter of making a statement, and whether I do it before this game or after, we'll wait and see," Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said in a press conference Friday. "But I don't want anything distracting from this game."
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