TB’s Brown among 3 suspended by league
Players violated COVID protocols
NEW YORK — Antonio Brown and two other NFL players have been suspended immediately for three games by the league for violating COVID-19 protocols.
The Tampa Bay wide receiver and teammate Mike Edwards were suspended Thursday. Free agent John Franklin III, if signed by a team, is also ineligible to play in the next three games.
All three players have accepted the discipline and waived their right of appeal. The suspensions are effective immediately.
The NFL Players Association, which developed the protocols along with the league, represented the three players during a review of the recent allegations that players misrepresented their vaccination status. Brown, Edwards, a cornerback, and Franklin, a defensive back who last played for the Bucs in 2019, were found in violation of the protocols.
“The health and safety of players and personnel is our top priority,” the NFL and NFLPA said in a joint statement. “The protocols were jointly developed working with our respective experts to ensure that we are practicing and playing football as safely as possible during the ongoing pandemic. The NFL-NFLPA jointly reinforce their commitment and further emphasize the importance of strict adherence to the protocols to protect the well-being of everyone associated with the NFL.”
The Buccaneers issued a brief statement in response to the league action.
“We appreciate the league’s timely handling of this matter and recognize the importance of the health and safety protocols that have been established,” the statement read. “We will continue to implement all league COVID-19 protocols.”
Brown joined Tampa Bay midway through last season after serving an eight-game suspension for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy.
The 33-year-old receiver, who has 29 catches for 418 yards and four touchdowns this season, has missed the past five games with an ankle injury. He also sat out the team’s Week 3 loss to the Los Angeles Rams after testing positive for COVID-19.
The suspensions come two weeks after a Los Angeles chef told the Tampa Bay Times that Brown obtained a fake COVID-19 vaccination card shortly before the start of training camp in July. The newspaper reported that Steven Ruiz provided a screenshot of a text message exchange in which Brown’s girlfriend asked the player’s former live-in chef if he could obtain Johnson & Johnson vaccination cards.
RAMS-JAGUARS: The Los Angeles Rams faced one of the NFL’s worst teams at home in December last season. The New York Jets left SoFi Stadium with their first victory, and the Rams were left with the most embarrassing loss of coach Sean McVay’s career.
So there’s no way Los Angeles (7-4) could take Sunday’s visit from the struggling Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9) lightly — even if the Rams’ own three-game losing streak didn’t already confirm they’re capable of losing to anybody these days.
“You don’t want to minimize the things that have occurred, but … these opportunities present a rare opportunity to really learn about people, and you almost appreciate them even more,” Rams coach Sean McVay said. “Are we disappointed? Does it sting what has gone on? Absolutely. Those are real emotions, but what we’re not going to do is just sit there with our head down and not get ourselves ready to prepare for that next opportunity.”
Two teams on three-game skids meet when the Rams play their first home game since acquiring pass-rushing linebacker Von Miller and receiver Odell Beckham Jr. last month, creating what Jacksonville coach Urban Meyer called “an All-Star team.”