Antonio Brown 'No Longer' a Bucs Player After Leaving Midgame vs. Jets, per Arians

Timothy Rapp @@TRappaRTFeatured Columnist IVJanuary 2, 2022

EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY - JANUARY 02: Antonio Brown #81 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers warms up prior to the game against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on January 02, 2022 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

Elsa/Getty Images

Antonio Brown's run with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers—and perhaps in the NFL, period—is over.

xz - Tampa Bay Buccaneers @Buccaneers
BA addresses the status of Antonio Brown: <a href="https://t.co/gC7D8Csin2">pic.twitter.com/gC7D8Csin2</a>

JennaLaineESPN @JennaLaineESPN
I asked Bruce Arians what led to the decision to ultimately cut Antonio Brown: "I'm not talking about him. He's no longer part of the Bucs."

Jay Glazer @JayGlazer
Just talked to Bruce Arians who said he was trying to get AB to go into game & AB refused. Tried again Brown refused & Arians told him to get out. On if he saw AB take his jersey off. “Yeah, I did. Never seen anything like it in all my years.” <a href="https://twitter.com/NFLonFOX?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NFLonFOX</a>

"He is no longer a Buc," head coach Bruce Arians told reporters Sunday after Brown removed his jersey and left the field midway through Tampa's 28-24 win over the New York Jets.

Ian Rapoport @RapSheet
Here is the video from <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bucs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bucs</a> WR Antonio Brown... leaving the field and saying goodbye. <a href="https://t.co/EaR0jRqcs3">pic.twitter.com/EaR0jRqcs3</a>

Ari Meirov @MySportsUpdate
Here's a sideline view of what happened with Antonio Brown. Looks like Mike Evans was trying to calm him down but nothing was going to help. AB took everything off and left. (video via <a href="https://twitter.com/mmmmillah?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@mmmmillah</a>)<a href="https://t.co/sMii14O7bh">pic.twitter.com/sMii14O7bh</a>

Here is Brown's response to the situation:

AB @AB84
Super Gremlin 🤙🏽 <a href="https://t.co/kiATncHHbl">pic.twitter.com/kiATncHHbl</a>

Brown also won't be flying with the team back to Tampa Bay:

ProFootballTalk @ProFootballTalk
From Bucs P.R. on how Antonio Brown is getting back to Tampa: "Not sure. After BA's comments, I wouldn't expect it would be with us."

Tom Brady was one of Brown's teammates to speak on the situation after the game:

Dov Kleiman @NFL_DovKleiman
Tom Brady on Antonio Brown: That's obviously a difficult situation. We all love him and care about him deeply." "I think everyone should be compassionate and empathetic toward some very difficult things."<a href="https://t.co/QjL2vGCRiQ">pic.twitter.com/QjL2vGCRiQ</a>

Rick Stroud @NFLSTROUD
Le’Veon Bell said he tried to text Antonio Brown after the game. Says he was happy to be his teammate again and now this. “It’s tough,” he said.

Brown's departure was so unprecedented that stadium security almost confused him for a fan as he left the field:

Lindsay Jones @bylindsayhjones
This sideline report is incredible. Stadium security thought there was a shirtless fan on the field and intended to tackle him before they realized it was Antonio Brown

Outside of perhaps Vontae Davis choosing to retire at halftime during a 2018 game, it's hard to remember a more bizarre midgame exit from a player.

But Brown's time in the NFL has been full of team-related drama, so it's unsurprising that his tenure with the Bucs would end in histrionics.

Andrew Siciliano @AndrewSiciliano
Antonio Brown quit on the Steelers his last week in Pittsburgh. Antonio Brown quit on the Raiders. Antonio Brown quit on the Buccaneers. Sense a trend?

Jason Cole @JasonCole62
Antonio Brown’s legacy is that he freaked out while playing on teams with Roethlisberger and Brady. What if he ever had to play with a crappy passer?

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Spotrac @spotrac
Antonio Brown needed: 8 more catches to unlock a $333,333 bonus. He also needed 55 receiving yards to unlock another $333,333 bonus. He also needed just 1 receiving TD to unlock another $333,333 bonus. This was a costly outburst.

Off the field, Brown allegedly assaulted a moving truck driver in January 2020, pleading no-contest to felony burglary with battery and two misdemeanors in June 2020.

Prior to that, Brown's former trainer Britney Taylor said in a lawsuit in September 2019 that he sexually assaulted her twice in 2017 and raped her once in 2018. Another woman then told Sports Illustrated's Robert Klemko that he made an unwanted sexual advance toward her in 2017. Taylor and Brown reached a settlement in April 2021.

In an ironic twist, Brown told reporters after last Sunday's game that the media is responsible for creating drama around him.

"I don't want to talk about that," he said when asked about his three-game suspension for having a fake vaccination card. "You guys are all drama. It's all about football. We're going to talk about Carolina or I don't want to talk to you. ... It's a lot of drama you guys create, a lot of drama people create who want stuff from me. That's a part of life, a part of being in the position. I can't control what people want from me, what people write about me."

Brown's tenure in Tampa Bay will end after parts of two seasons, 14 total appearances, one Super Bowl title, 84 catches for 1,002 yards and eight touchdowns, two suspensions, several injuries and one of the most bizarre sign-offs in NFL history.