Tampa Bay Buccaneers News & Rumors

Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown will miss today’s NFC Championship Game due to a knee injury, but apparently Tampa Bay likes what it has seen so far. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Bucs want to bring AB back in 2021 (video link).

At this point, there’s no need to rehash all of the events that led to Brown’s signing a modest one-year pact with the Bucs in October (if you want to relive the drama, just click on Brown’s tag at the bottom of this post). Suffice it to say, the 32-year-old has managed to stay out of trouble since he hooked on with Tampa, and between that and his on-field performance, he has convinced the Bucs that a re-up is a good idea.

Of course, the civil lawsuit stemming from the rape allegation levied against Brown is still pending and is currently set for trial on December 6, 2021. The league has made it clear that any new evidence that might emerge from that case — and there will be pre-trial depositions where such evidence could come to light — may lead to another suspension, which could make teams even warier of signing him than they otherwise would be.

The Bucs, though, appear prepared to take that chance. Tampa has a number of high-profile free agents to make decisions on, including WR Chris Godwin. Theoretically, the team could elect to part ways with Godwin and move forward with Brown, Scotty Miller, and Tyler Johnson behind top target Mike Evans.

For the season, Brown caught 45 passes for 483 yards and four TDs in eight games. And he showed he can still light it up when called upon to handle a heavy workload. Filling in for an injured Evans in Week 17, Brown appeared in a season-high 84% of Tampa’s offensive snaps and tallied 11 catches for 138 yards and two TDs.

The knee injury Antonio Brown suffered against the Saints will keep him out of Sunday’s Buccaneers-Packers game. The Bucs ruled out their hired-gun wideout for the NFC championship game.

Brown has not shown too much of his Steelers-era form this season but has certainly proven valuable for the Bucs, who have assembled one of the highest-profile skill-position cadres in recent NFL history. Brown’s absence will mean more work for younger players Scott Miller and Tyler Johnson alongside Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Rob Gronkowski. Brown did not practice this week.

“I just talked to him this morning, and to put him on the plane and fly up there and have it swell more doesn’t make any sense,” Bruce Arians said Friday, via ESPN.com’s Jenna Laine. “He wasn’t as close as we’d hoped, so we’ll get him ready for the next one.”

For the season, the 32-year-old receiver caught 45 passes for 483 yards and four touchdowns. Brown’s best game came in Week 17, when the Bucs lost Evans to a knee injury. Evans did not miss any additional time, returning for Tampa Bay’s playoff opener in Washington. Like Evans, Brown did not suffer serious structural damage. Should the Bucs upset the Packers, Brown would have two weeks to recover before what would be the second Super Bowl of his career.

The Bucs had not yet signed Brown when they routed the Packers in Week 6. Miller took a backseat to Brown once the Bucs signed the polarizing talent but put together a 501-yard season (15.2 per catch). A rookie fifth-rounder, Johnson added 169 yards and two TDs off the bench this season.

Antonio Brown is considered day-to-day with a knee injury, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Brown was forced to the sidelines on Sunday against the Saints, but his Tuesday MRI showed that he has not suffered any serious structural damage (via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com). 

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Brown was limited to just 27 snaps against New Orleans, but the Bucs still managed to come away with the 30-20 victory. The Bucs hope to have Brown in action this Sunday as they take on the Packers in the NFC Championship Game.

AB might not be the player that he once was, but he’s still an explosive receiver who can stress any defense. The potential for a monster game is still there, as shown in the Bucs’ regular season finale against the Falcons. Brown hauled in eleven catches for 138 yards and two touchdowns, his best showing since joining Tampa Bay in Week 9.

Through two playoff games this year, Brown has totaled three grabs for 59 yards and one score. For his career, the multiple-time All-Pro has amassed 54 catches for 896 yards and five TDs in the postseason.