Buccaneers have no comment regarding Antonio Brown’s status on roster

Memphis Grizzlies v Brooklyn Nets
Getty Images

Two days after Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians that receiver Bruce Arians is no longer a member of the team, Brown . . . is still a member of the team.

He hasn’t been waived, and he hasn’t been suspended. He remains on the active roster, with no moves made despite the things that Arians said publicly.

It’s unclear why the Buccaneers have taken no action. The Buccaneers have declined comment. The NFL Players Association, we’re told, is in the dark. Brown’s agent, Ed Wasielewski, has not responded to a request for comment.

As it stands, Brown has every right to show up for practice tomorrow. If he doesn’t, they may try to put him on the “left squad list” or take some other action based on his failure to show up for work.

But why should he? He was fired?

It’s unclear what the Buccaneers are trying to accomplish. It’s hard not to wonder whether the team is trying to find a way to keep Brown off the Bucs while also preventing him from becoming available to a team the Bucs may see in the playoffs or in the Super Bowl.

73 responses to “Buccaneers have no comment regarding Antonio Brown’s status on roster

  1. House Lannister kept Cerci even after her embarassment, and went onto win a lot.

    Coach Brady feels Brown is still needed for 1 more month. And right he is. Releasing him to another team is not an option. cutting him is not an option.

    Having him in for 1-2 plays against Green Bay is needed and necessary and something Brady is going to handle.

  2. So Bruce Arians just had his legs taken out from beneath him. “He’s no longer a Buc”. If the head coach is over ridden so easily, why would other problem children listen to a word he says? This is getting ugly.

  3. “Arians is such a BS artist, how does anyone believe anything he says?” – Donald J. Trump

  4. Bruce over stepped, AB called his bluff, now they retreat to the spin room to hash it out.

  5. Perhaps Arians and Vince McMahon are complicit in a ploy to bring AB back onto the field Sunday and beat the Panthers players with the fallen FedEx guardrail. This would be an excellent transition move for AB if his ankle is ok….

  6. That’s exactly what they are doing. They don’t want another playoff team scooping him up. Actually if they were smart they would let another team scoop him up and bring his drama there. He’s played on 4 teams and everywhere he’s gone there has been issues. I’d bet money he’d do it again.

  7. I can see all of this drama with Brown making the Bucs a one and done in the post season. It’s a huge distraction. Arians should have taken his power back from Brady a long time ago. If he had,Brown would be some other team’s problem.

  8. I’m as big a critic of Arians as anyone but I don’t blame them for doing this. There’s no way they want him playing for someone else and that’s understandable. I think it’s more likely they are contemplating suspending him or at least making him inactive for the rest of the season. That way he doesn’t play another down and keeps him away from another team. I find it hard to believe they don’t have grounds for suspending him after what he did on Sunday.

    Now, if AB plays again for TB then we can officially call Arians the biggest pushover coach of all time.

  9. It’s most likely the medical thing. Don’t think anyone would pick AB up now, but if they released him, and there’s a medical designation (ankle or mental), there’s probably liability issue that they would have to consider.

  10. Reminds one of the scene in Apocalypse Now when Martin Sheen approaches the soldier at the Do Long Bridge firing rounds into the darkness.

    Sheen: Who’s the commanding officer here?

    Soldier: Ain’t you?

  11. Not a Bucs Fan but I live in The Tampa area and there were rumblings in the media that he was at the stadium today. Who knows what they will do? I know that he is still their best receiver and if he plays they have a better chance to win the SuperBowl again. That means something. The rest of the world may hate it but they may not get rid of them. I really can’t stand Arians so it would give me a warm and fuzzy to see him have to swallow that chunk of humble pie.

  12. He should just show back up for work like George Costanza once did. “What, that? I was joking!”

  13. “Now, if AB plays again for TB then we can officially call Arians the biggest pushover coach of all time.

    17 2 Rate This

    After they win another Superbowl? Did you call Phil Jackson a pushover after they kept rodman in the game and on the team after national vegas headlines? No, you said wow I cant believe they kept him, good thing they did to win another ring, I cant believe how great the last dance is honey pass the popcorn.

  14. this is the perfect way to do it….AB is gone….they have the right to make him inactive for the rest of the games….then a month after the Super Bowl – he’s no longer under contract, and they move on.

    He can’t claim he got screwed out of his bonuses, as he’s already stated – he’s hurt, and couldn’t achieve them….and the post game comments were all about his inappropriate and erratic behavior during the game.

    AB is toast.

    Arena league here he comes

  15. There is no chance that they cut him. If they bring him back I would be shocked, but we do need him to make a run into the playoffs. Without him we are one and done. With him we get to NFC championship game and then I like our chances. We have good receivers but very few can get open with their route running. AB is the only one that can. Evan’s is great inside the redzone, but AB gives us the down field routes we need. Hate to say it but it is true. The fact that his agent isn’t saying anything is interesting. Maybe they are trying to kiss and make up behind the scenes. They both need each other.

  16. If the Bucs want to prove to the world they are a great team , cut AB and let the chips fall where they may. If they end facing him in the playoffs shut him down…you know what buttons to press with this guy.

  17. Quite a staff they’ve got there. We’ve heard from Dean Wormer and now Sgt. Schultz. Next up The Great and Powerful OZ?

  18. After a little thought I think that the Buccaneers were hiding in plain sight as a circus. So he’s right where he should be. And if Nagy or Judge aren’t available than they have the coach for the job too. Their lifeboat is filled with the EXAcT people they wanted, and asked for. So if it’s the S.S. Batbleep crazy then good sailing and we’ll watch for the harrowing tail of the capsize to come later on. Cause it’s coming. IMO

  19. Don’t cut him so he can sign with another playoff team just Don’t dress him or bench him. Cut him and he wins.

  20. It seems Arians spoke to quickly. Arians was ticked off and rightfully so but he spoke too soon. He should have just said we’re gathering information on what happened. Just one man’s opinion, but I think the front office wishes Arians would have waited to say anything until they, the front office, had figured out how they were going to play this. Arians spoke too soon and put them in a stickier situation IF AB were to press the issue. AB was being AB, which means acting childish and mishandling the situation. It could become a circus act. The Bucs are done with him but must figure out the proper coarse of action to keep AB from becoming a free agent right now.

  21. ^^^^ No, if the Bucs want to prove they are a great team, keep a top 5 talent and run the show in the playoffs for another ring. Then let everyone else complain. When the chess move really is keeping him.

  22. tom brady: put those pompoms down Bruce Bruce: I’m sorry tom I didn’t mean to say Antonio brown can’t play anymore .You should know better than to make any statements without my approval.

  23. I’m in the camp that believes Tampa isn’t going to let Brown sign anywhere until after the post-season. The Cowboys just lost Galloway and Jerry Jones doesn’t mind signing troubled players. Tampa doesn’t want him going to Dallas or any other team that needs a receiver.

    I don’t think TB12 can clean up this mess for AB. The locker room sees the exceptions being made for one player. Winning is the best deodorant and teammates may tolerate AB when they are winning, but I’m guessing they also see the double standard and don’t like it. At this point he’s got to be cut.

  24. I love the overreaction here. The Bucs are no doubt looking at their options through the NFL to either save money or not allow him to sign with another team. Just because he is technically still on the team does not mean he sees the field again this year.

  25. jonathankrobinson424 says:
    January 4, 2022 at 8:59 pm
    If the Bucs want to prove to the world they are a great team , cut AB and let the chips fall where they may. If they end facing him in the playoffs shut him down…you know what buttons to press with this guy.

    ——————

    Have you seen the Bucs secondary? They aren’t shutting AB down if they face him in the playoffs. That’s why they are figuring out a way to put him on the shelf. If he’s injured, they have every right to put him on IR. But if they do that he still gets paid, so that may be the hang up.

  26. I keep reading that the Bucs are fearful he’ll sign somewhere else. Seriously!?! Please explain to me what team going to the playoffs would bring in this cancer and derail it all. Whoever thinks that is beyond lost. The issue is Arians has proven that his word carries zero value. Wasn’t Brown cut for anything he did yet nothing happened while having a fake vax card. If the Bucs didn’t have Brady they were miles from a playoff spot last year. Super offensive guru had coached Winston to 30 picks. Go away Bruce.

  27. bradygirl12 says:
    January 4, 2022 at 8:22 pm
    I can see all of this drama with Brown making the Bucs a one and done in the post season. It’s a huge distraction. Arians should have taken his power back from Brady a long time ago. If he had,Brown would be some other team’s problem.

    =========================

    I don’t get all of this anti Arians stuff. I also don’t get where people are getting the idea that Brady is running the show there.

  28. Arians told him to leave. He didn’t tell him to ho to the locker-room.
    Legally the Bucs can say they didn’t fire him but to what end?
    Arians should have had an assistant who looked after Brown. When he wouldn’t go into the game Arians could have had a trainer ask if he was hurt and needed help. Arians chose to plat the tough guy.

    The knee jerk reaction will be to say it doesn’t work that way but Brady seems to understand Brown needed to be treated differently. He also seem to understand that Brown was terminated, not sentenced to purgatory.

  29. “What I meant to say is AB is not a member of the BUCKS – the Milwaukee Bucks.” — Brice Arians tomorrow

  30. Why should they do anything. Many teams have sat on players to keep other from poaching. It’s only a deal because the media wants to make it a deal. Yes AB is drama and will be off the team, but until they have to make a decision official, they won’t. It’s no different than coaches saying they haven’t decided who will start at qb on Sunday. They know but they lie because they can, and it keeps the opponents guessing.

  31. The Buc’s are doing the right thing by taking their time. Needless to say, Brown will not catch another pass as a Tampa Bay Buc.

  32. I mean this time, I really do. Just one more screw up and AB is gone!

    – Bruce Arian in 2024

  33. Around, isn’t that a machine for blowing snow? That is kinda what he is doing, except he is blowing smoke.

  34. Tampa probably owes him money they don’t want to pay. What team could take this guy? He’s radioactive.

  35. IDK if this is CTE and Bucs need to hang on to AB.

    If Bucs cut him, Chiefs might take a swing at him AHEM PLZ

    The inactive thing like Deshaun Watson. If he can play, let him go, IDK. Strange one

    Is there some Mental Health thing in the CBA now?

  36. He should show up to force their hand. By NFLPA rules, He is getting paid this week if he shows. He also would force his release by doing so.

  37. I’m guessing that Tom Brady wants Brown on the team. When push comes to shove, Brady gets what he wants. You have to wonder though whether Arians is going to end up quitting as Coach as a result of this.

  38. If Brady is as good as everyone claims, then he should elevate any receiver they put out there in ABs place. Brady though is mediocre and has to rely on actually elite players to bail him out. The result is AB being enabled and used. Tom doesn’t care about ABs well being. He only cares about his skills on the field and will use him until he can’t.

  39. I dislike AB immensely, but I also don’t like the concept of cutting him and then squatting on his ability to go elsewhere. Also–I do want to see someone else pick him up, because it will be incredibly entertaining and I am here to be entertained.

  40. He claims to have an ankle injury, though the ankle didn’t seem to bother him dancing off the field. So put him on IR. That would keep other teams from signing him and they wouldn’t have to put him on the field.

  41. Bruce Arians should have waited to speak to the GM and ownership the following day before making a roster announcement to the press. That is the coaching equivalent of taking your pads off and flashing a peace sign before the game is over. Sorry Bruce you need to speak with your superiors before any roster moves are made. They sign your checks. You work for them, not the other way around. If you don’t like it, there is the door. They have Tom, they don’t need you.

  42. lowlyfinfan88 says:
    That’s exactly what they are doing. They don’t want another playoff team scooping him up. Actually if they were smart they would let another team scoop him up and bring his drama there. He’s played on 4 teams and everywhere he’s gone there has been issues. I’d bet money he’d do it again.
    ———————————-
    I think Brady wants him, otherwise they could easily plop him on IR, right?

  43. I imagine Arians is in Brady’s dog house, for making a presumptuous move without clearing it with him first. It’s total insubordination–on Arians’ part.

  44. Cutting AB would be addition by subtraction. Anyone who signs AB for the playoffs is subtracting by addition. The Bucs need to cut this fool, move on, and dare any other team to take on that head case. AB would surely crumble under the pressure of any postseason matchup with the Bucs, so the Bucs should welcome that scenario.

  45. Translates to we won’t drop him until season is over so nobody will pick him up in the playoffs.

  46. Is there anyone on the planet who doesn’t think that if they cut him this week he would be healthy enough to play for someone else on Sunday and the “lingering ankle” injury that preventing him from playing last Sunday would be magically healed?

  47. Here’s what Arians will say and it might have the virtue of being true: “It was very loud in the stadium Sunday and I didn’t hear Antonio when he said that he injured his ankle when I told him to go on the field. He didn’t know I didn’t hear him, so when I told him to go in or be fired, he got angry. His reaction was excessive, but his anger was justified given the circumstances.” There, all better. Brown’s punishment is a one-game suspension. Poof. He’s ready for the playoffs.

  48. Wonder where the players assoc. is. Havent heard a whisper on this. They should be investigating anything that gets a player fired, suspended, etc and yet nothing coming out on their front. Players may wonder why they are paying dues, it could be one of them some day.
    Unless of course they know exactly what happened as told by buc players in the know who’s mouths are lipped shut to the media. Usually when the union knows its a losing situation they go into hiding not wanting to fight a war they cannot win.

  49. “Brady is mediocre”

    ———————

    I don’t mediocre means what you think it means. I don’t think that was an elite receiver he threw to to beat the Jets.

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to leave a comment. Not a member? Register now!

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.