Ravens' Eric DeCosta: Antonio Brown Speculation 'Doesn't Do Us Any Benefit'

Baltimore Ravens general manager Eric DeCosta put a lid, at least publicly, on any buzz that wide receiver Antonio Brown could be a target for the team this offseason, per Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com:

Brown has been a free agent since being cut by the New England Patriots in September. 

It may be a long shot that any team takes a chance on Brown after his past year:

• Was sued by his former chef, Stefano Tedeschi, who accused Brown of owing him over $38,000 in unpaid wages in July.
• Is granted a release from the Oakland Raiders in September after a bizarre and confrontational summer. He had been acquired by the Raiders in an offseason trade but never played a game for them.
• His former trainer, Britney Taylor, accuses him of rape and sexual assault in a lawsuit in September. Brown countersues in November.
• Another woman accuses him of making inappropriate sexual advances and later of sending her intimidating texts after her story goes public, per Sports Illustrated.  
• The New England Patriots release him in September after just one game with the team.
• Brown spends much of the 2019 regular season taking public shots at the NFL and various prominent figures around the league, including Patriots owner Robert Kraft and former teammate Ben Roethlisberger, before later apologizing. This cycle of incendiary comments followed by a public apology occurs several times. 
• He's arrested on charges of felony burglary conveyance, misdemeanor battery and misdemeanor criminal mischief in January after a delivery truck driver accuses Brown of assaulting him in Florida. 
• NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says in late January that the league is most concerned with the "well-being" of Brown after he's questioned about the league's ongoing investigations of sexual assault and misconduct made against him in September.

On talent alone, a player of Brown's caliber would improve most NFL offenses, including the Ravens. But given his ongoing legal cases and the possibility of a suspension by the NFL if he is signed by a team, it remains uncertain if Brown will ever play again.

Certainly, a team like the Ravens with Super Bowl aspirations and one of the league's most exciting and talented young players like Lamar Jackson doesn't need any potential headaches. Given DeCosta's comments, it doesn't sound like Brown is on the team's radar, perhaps for that very reason.