The Buccaneers headed towards the end of the regular season play expecting everything to run smoothly– just business as usual. But the January 2nd game against the New York Jets turned out to be anything but that. as wide receiver Antonio Brown decided to leave during the 3rd quarter of their 28-24 win over the Jets. 

“I don’t think any other player in the NFL would do that, like what he did, how he just left, but he’s the goat,” Junior Jose Gutierrez said. “I thought it was funny, but he shouldn’t have done it, he’s kind of an idiot for it at the same time.”

Gutierrez refers to the quick and explosive sideline disagreement Brown had with team coach Bruce Arians. Brown’s response to the exchange was to take his helmet, shoulder pads, and undershirt off and throw them and his gloves into the stands. Brown then proceeded to jog across the end field to the visiting locker room, while throwing a peace sign to the fans. Two of Brown’s teammates approached him as they tried to talk him down, but when it appeared that it wasn’t working they returned their attention to the game.

The real problem is that this behavior is expected from Brown, who was suspended for three games earlier this season for providing a fake COVID-19 vaccination card to the NFL. His on-the-field performance is dimmed by his off-the-field antics, bad behavior, and bad decision-making that has resulted in his being traded in and out of 3 NFL teams in the last few seasons: the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Oakland Raiders, and the New England Patriots. 

Junior Ryan McLain said, “He is definitely one of the best wide receivers in the NFL right now, and he could definitely go to any team he wants to. His attitude needs to change to actually play on a good team.”

Brown took to social media 24 hours after the game, but never mentioned his reason for why he left the field during the game. The NFL’s official website states that Brown felt he was too injured to play. Brown has been dealing with an ankle injury going on for 17 weeks. It has kept him out of many games and practices. Brown felt that he couldn’t help his team, and wouldn’t do any good for putting him in. Arians told Brown to get on the field more than once, but Brown refused and got upset. Brown said the coaches knew about his injury, but the coaches said he had never mentioned it. 

Brown, who spoke about his on-the-field behavior with TMZ on Monday said, “it probably wasn’t necessary or professional.” The Buccaneers have officially cut ties with Antonio Brown.