National Post (National Edition)
Brady to Brown to get second showing
Controversial receiver suits up for Buccaneers
Now that Antonio Brown is a member of Tom Brady's Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the 43-year-old quarterback has reason to hope Brown takes it to the house early and often. In some cases, though, it might actually be Brady's house.
It sounds like Brown is staying, at least temporarily, in the mansion Brady rented from Derek Jeter in an exclusive Tampa neighbourhood.
Asked on Monday, before the Bucs defeated the New York Giants in a nationally televised game, about a report that Brown has been a house guest, Brady all but confirmed it.
“Antonio's a good friend of mine, and we've got to know each other pretty well over the years,” Brady told Jim Gray of Westwood One. “So he's just getting settled, and I know he's looking for places, but it's just nice to be able to have him around. You know, we're getting to work and he likes to be integrated into what we're doing, and a big transition for him, moving across the state and really not knowing anyone.
“So, again, just trying to be a great teammate, and help someone out who is a friend of mine.”
When Brown signed with Brady's New England Patriots last season, the quarterback said then that he would “love for him to stay at my house.”
Now Brady has to hope that
Brown's stay in Tampa Bay is longer than the 13 days and one game he spent in New England.
The Patriots quickly released Brown after the NFL began looking into accusations of rape and sexual assault against him by one woman and allegations that he sent threatening text messages to another woman who had accused him of inappropriate conduct. Previously, problematic behaviour attributed to Brown, arguably the league's best receiver from 2013 to 2018, had led to his banishments from the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Oakland Raiders.
The Buccaneers activated Brown from the suspended list on Tuesday after serving an eight-game suspension the NFL handed him in July, and he might play right away. The Bucs were “shocked” at Brown's high level of conditioning when he reported to them, according to a report Sunday by Fox Sports, and one of their star wide receivers, Chris Godwin, missed Monday's game with a finger injury.
“We were real healthy a couple of months ago, and the injuries we've gone through with our receiver corps, we just needed some insurance,” Bucs coach Bruce Arians said before the game (via
Pro Football Talk). “And when you're losing Pro Bowl players, very seldom can you ever replace them with one, and somebody that I think's gonna buy in and adapt to what we want to do.
“So we pulled the trigger, and we're kind of excited about it.”
Brady and Brown reportedly stayed in touch through the off-season, and after Brady left the Patriots for the Bucs, Brown said he would be “really grateful if I had the opportunity to play in Tampa Bay.”
“Obviously to play with Tom Brady would be an extreme honour,” Brown added at the time. “... I'm just trying to do everything I can do to get stuff out the way, so I can get back to the field. I'm just excited for TB. He's got a great opportunity. He's one of my close friends.”
“Certainly I'm happy for Antonio to get an opportunity to resume his career,” Brady said on Westwood One last week. “He's put a lot of time and energy into working on a lot of things in his life, and I know he's excited to play football.”
Arians, who had worked with Brown when he was a Steelers assistant coach and who described the wide receiver last year as a “diva,” had previously dismissed the idea of bringing Brown to Tampa Bay. That frosty relationship, plus Brady's friendship with Brown, led to speculation that the Bucs' new quarterback was the driving force behind the signing, but Arians insisted last week that “Tom didn't have anything to do with it.”
“I think he's matured,” Arians said then of Brown. “I believe in second chances ... If Antonio does what I think he's going to do, he's going to be fine.”
INJURIES ... WITH OUR RECEIVER CORPS, WE JUST NEEDED SOME INSURANCE.