Antonio Brown was the best wide receiver in professional football just a couple of years ago. Now he’s not even in football. It truly is incredible how fast a man can watch his career get torn down by his own mistakes. He forced his way out of Pittsburgh to the Raiders, raised all sorts of havoc in Oakland, got cut, and signed with Patriots. There his off-the-field antics grew more and more alarming to a point where even Bill Belichick couldn’t afford to keep him around.
Now the 32-year old faces an eight-game suspension in addition to some serious brushes with law enforcement that might land him judicial punishment of some kind. Despite all of this, there is still a belief he’ll find his way back to the NFL. Somebody will take a gamble on him. It doesn’t matter what he’s done to this point. As long as he’s breathing and healthy, his past glory is enough to warrant interest.
Las Vegas believes this reality and placed odds on which team would pull the trigger. Needy teams with great QBs like the Packers, Seahawks, and Buccaneers were the highest odds. However, a surprise entrant was the Chicago Bears at 12/1.
It’s clear the oddsmakers are basing this on team need rather than extensive research. Right now the Bears have one proven wide receiver in their lineup. Everybody else is a question mark to varying degrees. Anthony Miller finished 2019 strong but it’s not yet certain he can stay healthy. Ted Ginn Jr. still has speed but is 35-years old. Javon Wims and Riley Ridley remain unknowns. From a pure ability standpoint, Brown would be an upgrade over all of them.
That doesn’t mean he’ll be signed by them. In fact, the Bears aren’t likely to even give him a call. One thing this team has put a lot of time and effort into the past five years is their team culture. They value players who are unselfish, hard workers, and great leaders. Guys who are self-motivated and focused on winning games.
Brown is great but he’s also a notorious locker room malcontent who couldn’t even get along with Ben Roethlisberger. A guy who fed him the ball constantly for years. Try to imagine how he’d react with Mitch Trubisky as his QB. It would be a nightmare. The speculation is fun and all but this just isn’t happening.
