Antonio Brown backstabbing Tom Brady was the twist we didn’t know we needed

While the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are both gearing up for the postseason, one of those teams is mired in controversy and tons of off-field hullabaloo. Surprisingly, the team without Tom Brady is the one that appears to be steady as the playoffs loom.

Despite Tampa’s comeback win against the Jets, the talk of the NFL world has been Bucs receiver Antonio Brown leaving the team in the middle of a game. While the petulant outburst was initially put on Brown’s inability to control his emotions, a statement released by Brown put some of the blame on Bruce Arians and the Bucs.

Brown claims that Arians and the Buccaneers were forcing him to play despite the fact his ankle was not healthy. AB even called out Brady into this nasty turn of events, highlighting a private text conversation with trainer Alex Guerrero. An ugly situation just got even uglier.

Brown posted screenshots of his messages with Guerrero to show that they have cut off communication, with AB alleging that he was billed $100,000 despite Guerrero not working with him. He even managed to tag Brady in the post, essentially roping the star quarterback into this mess.

Antonio Brown went after Tom Brady and Alex Guerrero.

The NFL would’ve been well within their rights to never touch Brown again after the stunts he pulled with the Raiders. However, Brady and the Patriots signed Brown right after his Oakland release. He lasted just one week in New England, as sexual assault allegations ruined whatever positive feelings he engendered.

In Tampa, Brady brought AB to town with the promise that he would keep him on the straight and narrow. After he helped win a championship while slicing up the Chiefs in the Super Bowl, it seemed like Brown turned over a new leaf. In the span of a few weeks, however, Brown has lit that goodwill on fire, ripping his teammates and coaches along the way.

Even though Brady and the Patriots were masters of keeping some troubled players on track in New England, it seems like Brown is too self-destructive, either due to potential mental health struggles or a generally combustible demeanor, to be trusted. Stabbing Brady in the back may have been the final straw. TB12 was the one who kept AB employed … and now that bridge has been burned.

If a sterling organization owned by Robert Kraft, quarterbacked by Brady, and coached by Bill Belichick could only hold onto Brown for one week, that should be an indication of the kind of risks any team that brings him in places upon themselves.

This likely won’t be the last we hear from AB in the coming days. Maybe we’re about to see some texts from Brady get posted on Twitter…

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