A Look at How the Buccaneers Acquisition of Antonio Brown Has Been a Blessing for Both Sides

Antonio Brown finally seems to be back to his best. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver signed a 1-year contract with the franchise midway through the season as a free agent and started his first game in Week 9.

After enduring a relatively slow start to life in Tampa, Brown is finally firing on all cylinders. And lucky for the Bucs, he’s peaking at just the right time. 

Antonio Brown back to his explosive best

The wide receiver was a star during his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers. In fact, he was so good that he was a First Team All-Pro for 4 consecutive years (2014-2017). 

While life in Pittsburgh started well, it came to a grinding halt following a falling out between Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger and the WR. 

He soon moved on to the Oakland Raiders (now Las Vegas Raiders) in 2019, where he got released before playing a single game following a bust-up with the team’s GM. 

The New England Patriots followed in the same season, but that too was a short stint. The team had to cut him following a series of incidents that transpired off the pitch. 

Fast forward to January 2021, and Brown is back in the headlines for all the right reasons. He’s scoring touchdowns again. In the final game of the regular season, Brown ended up catching 2 touchdown passes from Tom Brady. 

And Brown’s performance isn’t just a one-off. In Weeks 15 & 16, the former Steelers wideout managed to grab himself a touchdown each. 

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Brown provides Brady another potent aerial route

Even if you factor out Brown, the Buccaneers have one of the best receiving corps in the league. With wideouts like Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and Tight End Rob Gronkowski, the Bucs are loaded with options.

Add Brown to the mix and you have a Super Bowl worthy offense. While Evans and Godwin lack the experience of playing in the Playoffs, Gronk and Brown are seasoned vets, and experience is key at this stage of the season.

Brown can even stand-in for key WR Mike Evans, who picked up an injury in Week 17. While Evans remains 50-50 to start the Wild Card game, Brown will be right there as an option to coach Arians if the need should arise.

Many might sleep on Brown given his slow start, but the wide receiver means business. So fellow NFC playoff teams better beware. Antonio Brown is coming in hot. 

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