Antonio Brown continues to be on the Buccaneers roster. However, he’s not currently at work.
Via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Brown is not present at Wednesday’s practice. It’s the first official work day since Sunday’s win over the Jets, which was followed by coach Bruce Arians explaining that Brown is no longer on the team.
The Buccaneers have not yet released Brown. Some think the Bucs hope to ensure that Brown plays neither for them nor for any other team.
If Brown doesn’t show up, he eventually can be placed on the “left squad” list and shut down for the balance of the season. That said, Brown could argue that he didn’t show up because it was publicly (and privately) said that he’s no longer on the team. So why show up?
Brown’s camp has yet to say anything on his behalf. One of the biggest questions looming over the situation is whether he refused to re-enter Sunday’s game due to his pre-existing ankle injury.
However it plays out, the Bucs seem to be trying to engineer an outcome that ensures no one with the organization will ever have to explain to Tom Brady why Brown had 10 catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns for the Chiefs in a Super Bowl LVI win over Tampa Bay.