One of the league’s most incendiary characters is trying to come back and play for the Ravens: former disgraced Tampa Bay Buccaneer Antonio Brown.
It’s a good month to be a Baltimore Ravens fan. The franchise just signed Lamar Jackson to a long-term deal, picked up wideout reinforcements in Odell Beckham Jr. and Zay Flowers, and all in all have a young and talented squad ready to compete for Super Bowl glory in 2023.
Once an undesirable destination for wideouts (Hollywood Brown made some critical comments on the Ravens’ offensive scheme after he was traded), the Ravens have burst onto the scene as a rising AFC juggernaut and should usher in a more promising era under new offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
The offense will consist of Jackson, OBJ, Flowers, Rashod Bateman, Mark Andrews, and….who’s that hiding back there in the shadows? Antonio Brown.
Yes, the Antonio Brown.
Brown recently posted a picture of himself wearing a Ravens jersey and captioned it, “Excited to return to the NFL this year.” He also added a hashtag, “#RavensFlock,” just for good measure. In case anyone wasn’t sure what team he wanted to play for.
Another year of dealing with Antonio Brown shenanigans. Sigh.
Antonio Brown proudly dubs himself a member of the Baltimore Ravens
Brown is exactly like one of those people who invite themselves to parties. He’s nosedived to rock bottom since leaking out texts between him and ex-teammate Tom Brady, and he’s reportedly being sued for owing a million dollars to his jeweler.
Seems like he needs the money, but it hasn’t been that long since he was basically blacklisted from the league. Even he should still know how these things work: the team picks the player, not the other way around. Otherwise everybody would be playing for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Maybe during the 2022 season, the Ravens would have considered adding Brown over, say, Demarcus Robinson or DeSean Jackson. Those were desperate times indeed.
Now, with a brand spanking new wideout room with established vets and high-upside rookies, there’s simply no reason the Ravens would gamble away their future by picking up Brown. In Brown’s final few years in the league, he proved to be no more than an uncontrollable liability prone to erupting at any time, and there’s no way that Baltimore, having just regained a foothold in the AFC by retaining its franchise quarterback, will expose its roster to the corrupt and volatile ways of well-known instigator.
Brown is better off pursuing other channels to stroke his ego as his inescapable aura of chaos will not be welcome in Baltimore. Try Cleveland instead.
