Bucs announce official cut to Brown

Four days after wide receiver Antonio Brown removed his helmet and walked off the field during the game against the New York Jets, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers terminated his contract, effective immediately, the team announced Thursday.

“While Antonio received treatment on his ankle and was placed on the injury report the week prior to Sunday’s late game, he received medical clearance to play by our medical staff prior to the start of the game and at no time during the game did he indicate to our medical staff that he was unable to play.

“We have attempted, on multiple occasions throughout this week, to schedule an evaluation by an outside orthopedist, however, Antonio has not complied. Maintaining the health and well-being of our players is of the utmost importance to our organization.”

Brown and his attorney Sean Burstyn indicated Wednesday that he indicated to the Buccaneers that he was too hurt to continue playing with an injured ankle, while head coach Bruce Arians denied any knowledge of the nature of his actions, nor did he say Brown communicated to him or the medical staff that his ankle was bothering him.

A Buccaneers official, however, said Brown was agitated at halftime of Sunday’s game against the Jets about not getting balls in his direction that he was expecting and that he had to calm him down.

Brown’s attorney said the receiver’s ankle injury, not the balls in his direction, was the source of Brown’s frustration.

Bucs general manager Jason Licht said Thursday that Brown and his agent requested last week that the remaining $2 million in incentives on his contract for this season be guaranteed, and the team rejected the request.

In a statement issued Wednesday, Brown said he was forced to play with an injured ankle and will require surgery, which is why he left Sunday’s game so abruptly in the third quarter.

An NFL spokesman said Thursday that Brown would not be subject to punishment from the league for his actions during Sunday’s game.

Upset on the bench, Brown, who had been on the field for 26 plays, stripped off his jersey, his equipment, his jersey and threw his gloves into the stands. He then ran along the diagonals while both teams were on the field and waved to fans as he headed to the locker room.

He accused the Buccaneers of mischaracterizing his actions on the field as a “mental problem” rather than a refusal to play due to pain.

Licht indicated that Brown did not tell anyone on the Bucs’ medical staff Sunday that his ankle bothered him before or during the game.

Licht noted that the Buccaneers made “reasonable arrangements” to close this matter earlier in the week if in fact Brown had a game injury and the wide receiver refused to cooperate.

Brown referenced Wednesday that he underwent an MRI on Monday, revealing broken bone fragments, a torn bone ligament and cartilage loss. He also said the Bucs tried to send him to a “junior doctor,” rather than those he sought out in New York City, including Dr. Martin O’Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery, where he had scheduled the operation. He claims the Bucs gave him “a few hours’ notice to report” and “ordered him under penalty of punishment.”

Licht indicated that the Bucs made two medical appointments in New York for Brown in order to place him on the injured reserve list and pay him for the remainder of the year and he failed to show up for both appointments. The team still could have placed him on the injured reserve list if Brown sent in his medical records, but he did not respond to text messages or calls, Licht stated.

Licht said the Bucs also could have made those appointments in Tampa, but they knew Brown was in New York. Brown and his agent did not send the Bucs medical information from his doctor’s visit this week, Licht said, and he has yet to return the team’s calls.

This Thursday morning, Brown posted screenshots on social media of alleged text exchanges with Arians from Thursday, Dec. 30, and Friday about the status of his ankle, describing the image on his Instagram post with, “Coach said we never spoke.”

In another post, Brown said none of his teammates knew about the alleged discussion with Arians.

“My brothers have been good to me. From Tom [Brady] to the practice squad, we were a top-notch unit,” Brown posted on his Twitter account. “They have been good to me and knew nothing about my conversations with coach last week. The team mishandled this situation. They let me and, more importantly, my teammates down.”

He also posted a complaint Thursday about a deal with Brady’s coach, Alex Guerrero, and tagged Brady in the posts, saying “Tom Brady’s guy, Alex Guerrero, charged $100,000 to never work with me. How do you work with people like that! This is what I was dealing with.” He posted something similar on Twitter, something he later deleted, with “…must have been part of these guys’ plans all along.”

Brown first suffered the ankle injury in Week 6 and missed five games. He was then suspended three games after an NFL investigation found he turned in a no-vaccination card against COVID-19.

He returned in Week 15 against the Carolina Panthers, catching 10 passes for 101 yards receiving. But he also aggravated the injury and, as a result, did not participate in Thursday and Friday practices last week and was officially reported as questionable prior to the game against the Jets.

Arians was not at those practices because he was quarantined at home after testing positive for COVID-19, but he was kept up to date on all practices and the status of all players.