Free agent Antonio Brown unlikely to return for 2022 season

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneer wide receiver Antonio Brown seemed to rule out a return to the NFL for the 2022 season.

What It Means:

"...don’t play yourself looking at me to play," Brown said during a live interview on a fan-controlled football game this week. Brown's abrupt mid-game departure from the Buccaneers may end up being the last we see of the former All-Pro talent on an NFL field. His off-field behavior had been coming into the spotlight increasingly often over the past few years, including claims by his former trainer of sexual assault. Despite his continued on-field success, his NFL career may be coming to a close.

While Brown played most of the 2021 season at 33 years old, he still dominated when he was available to the Tom Brady-led Buccaneers; his 3.03 yards per route run mark ranked fifth in the league before his bizarre exit. He once had a streak of four consecutive years of All-Pro awards for his production at the wide receiver position.