Antonio Brown's meltdown may cost Tom Brady his eighth Super Bowl ring
One of the most bizarre occurrences took place on the football field yesterday, and it involved Antonio Brown. During yesterday's game, in which the Tampa Bay Buccaneers were getting beaten up by the New York Jets, Brown decided to retire mid-game. It was an odd showing from the controversial player.
Brown was shown on the sidelines taking off his jersey. He, then, decided to take off his shirt and gloves, throw them into the crowd, dance across the endzone, and walk himself into the locker room.
Now that the fallout from Brown's apparent meltdown has come to a close, what could be at stake is Brady's eighth ring.
Did Antonio Brown sabotage the Buccaneers season?
Simply put, Antonio Brown bailing on his team is one of the worst things that a football player can do. What is surprising is that this isn't the first time in which he has acted in this manner. Brown spent the past few seasons of his career jumping from the New England Patriots to the Las Vegas Raiders and, finally, to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
From @GMFB: How and why did #Bucs WR Antonio Brown end up storming off the field shirtless to end his Tampa Bay career? https://t.co/nd6xq0xMLp
This could essentially be Brown's final chance to play for a team, as everyone has been quite aware of his more recent troubles on and off the field. Now, quitting mid-game on the Bucs could have put the team in a tough position. Although there is still Mike Evans, losing Antonio Brown will severely hurt the team.
The Buccaneers wide receiver room has now been decimated by injuries and the actions of Brown leaving and being cut by the team. Brown held the second-best yardage on the team with 545 receiving yards, now that Godwin was placed on IR.
Breshad Perriman and Cyril Grayson haven't amounted to much on the team. Both receivers have collectively garnered 335 receiving yards. Those are pretty terrible numbers, considering that it is throughout the entire season. Those two receivers are likely not going to be the high-level talent that can replace Brown.
Brown accounted for 13 yards per reception on average. Those are huge numbers when you think about the specifics of the game. Now Brady will be without a receiver who is catching the ball and getting a first-down nearly every time. Moving the chains matters a great deal in clock management. Brown was also amounting to 77 yards per game. That number matters a great deal as well.
Without the proper producing receiver to step in and replace Brown, Brady will struggle without having such a stalwart weapon to work with. Evans, Brown, and Godwin were among the best receiving corps in the entire league. Now Brady only has Evans to depend on.
Tom Brady shared his thoughts after former teammate Antonio Brown left the field early during Sunday's game. https://t.co/jEHMkLEEO6
With Brown going through his meltdown, abandoning the team could cost the Buccaneers their trip to the NFC championship game and their Super Bowl hopes. The NFC is stacked with the Cowboys, Packers, and Cardinals playing at a high level, and the Bucs losing Brown's skillset will certainly hurt them.