On July 20th, 2020 at 2:17 PM, Antonio Brown sent out a series of tweets that seemingly announced his retirement from the NFL and possibly the game of football entirely.
The former Steelers’ transformation from lovable underdog to rebellious diva has left a sour taste in the league’s mouth, and begs the question: is this truly the end?
It’s hard to tell for sure, but considering the journey Antonio Brown has been on since this all began, putting an end to it all may be his best decision. Let’s look back at how this all began and what could come next for the former four-time All-Pro.
Coming off of nearly a 1,200 yard season at Central Michigan, Brown was still ranked incredibly low heading into the draft. Finally picked in the sixth round of the 2010 draft, Brown had the chance to make a real name for himself and compete to be a starting receiver. At the end of the 2010 season, however, he was only targeted 19 times in 9 games, never starting once. His 19 targets ranked 8th on the team, behind 28-year old running back Mewelde Moore’s 31.
Things turned around quickly, though, as Brown exploded in 2011 with 1108 yards as a sophomore on only 69 receptions. His 124 targets led the team, although Mike Wallace had better receiving stats on slightly fewer targets.
That didn’t matter. This kid was special.
After a disappointing 2012 campaign, AB would take off in a rocket and wouldn’t return to Earth for over half a decade.
From 2013-2018, Brown was a six-time Pro-Bowler and four-time All-Pro, while never having a season of less than 1297 yards. He led the league in receptions and receiving yards twice, posted the fourth-most receiving yards in a season, and had four seasons of 10 or more touchdowns, including his league-leading 15 in 2018.
If you don’t think that’s impressive, Hall of Fame wide receiver Terrell Owens compared similarly, but in a span of eight years instead of Brown’s six. Owens was an All-Pro one more time than Brown, but never led the league in receptions or receiving yards. Of course, both players also played in different offenses, with different supporting casts, and in different years. In fact, Owens’ final year was Brown’s rookie season.
Ok, enough about Owens.
After a phenomenal 2018 campaign, it seemed like Brown was unstoppable. What could slow him down?
Himself, it seems.
You see, that 2018 season didn’t end like Peyton Manning’s. He didn’t ride out into the sunset, nor did he just end things at his peak like Calvin Johnson. No, this story goes far beyond that. In the span of only one year, Brown managed to make everyone forget about those legendary years.
Leading up to the end of the 2018 regular season, Antonio Brown was clearly upset. He was skipping team meetings and conveyed his dissatisfaction with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. While fans were used to Brown being a regular NFL diva at times, this was different. This wasn’t just having an ego because he was good and wanted more receptions, recognition, or money. This Antonio Brown felt different. Not different enough to warrant anything major, but as a Steelers fan I can tell you there was a strange feeling about the situation.
Prior to the week 17 meeting with the bengals, head coach Mike Tomlin made the decision to bench Antonio Brown after he refused to participate in team practice.
That offseason, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport tweeted out that the Bills and Steelers were closing in on a trade that would send Brown to Buffalo.
That trade never happened.
Rapoport later went on to explain on Good Morning Football that Buffalo backed out of the trade, but that Brown was still expected to be traded by the Steelers.
Only days later, Antonio Brown was alleged to have been traded to the Raiders. Finally, this ended up being true.
His short-lived stint with the Raiders featured its own troubles. Prior to the 2019 regular season, Brown created his own saga-within-a-saga. When the NFL updated their safety policy and standards, many players were forced to change helmet models amongst other things. Although the league gave the players some time to transition, Brown was still not happy to switch from the model he had worn for almost a decade, and sat out of training camp. He never played a game as a Raider. Eventually, Brown made a post on instagram asking to be released, and his wish was granted.
Alas, our story STILL has not ended here. You would think that this bizarre chain of events would keep any team away from a headache of a player. Talent, however, prevails at times. Almost every team rosters a player who has either broken the law, broken league policy, or just continued to cause problems. For the most part, these are more minor issues, and Brown’s undeniable talent means a team might be willing to deal with these issues, at least for just one season and a chance to win a championship.
The Patriots couldn’t refuse that, and signed him to a one-year deal worth $15 million, per Ian Rapoport.
Brown only played one game for the Patriots, putting up 4 receptions for 56 yards and a touchdown in a 43-0 win against the Dolphins.
That would be his last NFL game, as the Patriots cut him only 5 days later.
Now, Brown has retired. Sort of.
ESPN’s Field Yates pointed out on Twitter that Brown had announced his retirement before, on September 22nd, 2019, only two days after being cut by the Patriots. Although the Seahawks showed interest in Brown this month, nothing has come out of it.
At this point, we haven’t even covered everything that Antonio Brown has done, or allegedly done. There was the time he was accused of throwing items off of his balcony, causing thousands of dollars in damages. Late in 2019, he had multiple fights and arguments with his ex-girlfriend Chelsie Kyriss, who he later proposed to in April 2020. He was even accused of sexual assault by a former trainer of his. Yet, there is still more that we can’t cover in just one article. We could be here all day if I went into full detail on all of these.
Controversy, no matter how big, can’t and won’t keep players out of the Hall of Fame. They only look at what a player has done on the field, and there is no denying that Brown has been a phenomenal athlete. At only 5’10, the former Steeler, Raider, Patriot, and sort of Bill, has been the best receiver of the 2010’s, passing the eye test and bolstering his case with an incredible stretch of statistically mind blowing seasons.
So, is this it? Is this how he ends his career?
I think so.
As AB said in his recent retirement tweets, he has nothing left to prove. He didn’t have a few flukey seasons. He didn’t just happen to benefit from some situation for a couple of years. This man dominated a decade. While most Hall of Fame receivers have the benefit of longevity to carry their case, is that really needed for Brown? I don’t think so. I think his resume speaks for itself. With no drama or off-field issues considered, Brown can do no more now than wait and see what the voting committee makes of him. When you’re on pace to shatter Jerry Rice’s career stats on a per-start basis, you have to at least be given consideration.
It’s time to turn the page and end this chapter in NFL history.
