Can Antonio Brown Make a NFL Comeback
Steelers at Redskins 9/12/16
Antonio Brown has led NFL receivers in past years but more recently has struggled to find a home. Brown, now facing an 8-game suspension to start the season has made his chances of playing much lower. Brown has worked tirelessly to stay in shape and is ready for the call if one comes, and as capable number one receiver he could be a very valuable piece, with many teams in need. With teams like the Giants, Jets and Vikings still in need of a star first down receiver, Brown could easily find a home before the start of the regular season, provided he is willing to stay out of trouble. And even with Brown at 32, as an experienced player he can still bring value with his ability to rack up yards. Brown has had workouts with quarterbacks Lamar Jackson, Russell Wilson, Colin Kaepernick, Daniel Jones, and Cam Newton, which could lead to a signing with the Ravens or Seahawks.
As a 7-time pro-bowl receiver, appearing in 131 career games and starting in 103 of them, Brown looks to bring his veteran presence to a team looking for a final piece. Brown has racked up over 11 thousand career yards (11263), 75 career receiving touchdowns and has led the NFL twice in total receiving yards in a season. Brown also sits fourth of all time with most receiving yards in a single season (1834) from the 2015 season where he finished 38 yards behind Julio Jones.
Brown has had an incredible career stat wise, but he is not just a stats player. Throughout his career Brown has been a dominate receiver and he is still skilled enough to play in today’s NFL. Browns single game receiving yard record is 288 yards, and he also averaged over 100 yards per game in 3 seasons. Brown has simply been unstoppable at some points in games an exceedingly rare skill, demonstrated by other greats of the game like Jerry Rice, Randy Moss and Calvin Johnson.
And while the 32-year-old Brown, has had quite a career, the question remains if he is able to put up game changing numbers at this stage of his career. Another obstacle of course for Brown to be signed, is his 8-game suspension. At this point, even if he were signed, he would not be able to return until week 9, and there is no way of knowing if will stay out of trouble to play out the rest of the season. But after he has been away from football, I believe Brown will be a choir boy knowing that his past has left some questions and anything as small as an allegation could have him back at home. As for Brown’s football skill he is still capable of putting up high yardage games as he may fit in as a top 20 receiver, but likely even higher since when fully healthy, he has been the top wide out in the NFL in past years.
Many teams are aware of the skill of Antonio Brown but are shying away from him because of his struggle to stay out of trouble. Every NFL general manager wants a player with Antonio Brown’s skill just not Antonio Brown’s unpredictable personality. Attitude is an important part of team success in today’s game and every player needs to have the right mindset to move to a Super Bowl. A contending team like the Balitmore Ravens have looked at Brown to complete their receiving core, and Lamar Jackson has been practicing with Antonio Brown saying he would be happy if Ravens were to sign Brown. Another team who had interest in Brown was the Seattle Seahawks after Russell Wilson had been pushing for the team to give Brown a chance before his suspension. Many believe an Antonio Brown signing could be a self-destructive move which could ruin the year for a contending team. A struggling team without a real shot at the Super Bowl could make a run at Brown. Bringing in Brown to a struggling team to increase the chances of making the playoffs is a win-win. If Brown works for a team and racks up a couple hundred yards the team will be a harder team to play against, but if Brown doesn’t work out he could be dropped early enough to ensure the same draft position – essentially a low risk huge reward scenario. Teams that already have a solid chance of making the playoffs (like the Seahawks) might not want to mess up team chemistry so could be less inclined to move on a player like Brown.
An Antonio Brown return could be devastating to teams like the Steelers and 49ers. A full-strength Brown would add another layer of receiving to a contending team as he was a top receiver in past seasons. A Wilson-Brown or Jackson-Brown connection could lead to an unstoppable offense. Russell Wilson with a trio of Metcalf, Brown and Lockett or Jackson with the Brown cousins would be a very tough cover. With Brown’s hall of fame career behind him he looks to add on what he has produced over the years, and he wants to play football at the highest level. He is 32 and ready to produce, and where there is a reward there is always risk. That means a team looking to make a jump into Super Bowl contention might be one piece short, and Brown could be that piece. With many teams in need of a receiver Brown could get a call sooner rather than later.
This article is original content published by sports writer Matthew White. Please feel free to link to and discuss this article but do not copy content.
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