Buccaneers officially sign Antonio Brown
Antonio Brown has officially signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, adding another great receiving option to an offense that is already overflowing with elite talent. ESPN's Adam Schefter reported the signing is officially done, allowing Brown to take the field as soon as Week 9, though that will obviously be decided based on his health and conditioning.
The deal is expected to have a max value of $2.5 million, with several incentives in place based on performance. This is a huge discount for the team, but given Brown's remarkable destruction of his reputation over the last year-and-a-half, it makes sense that he is taking much less money than he probably believes he is worth.
On July 31, the NFL announced Brown would face an eight-game suspension before being allowed to return due to violating the league's Personal Conduct Policy, including having allegations of sexual misconduct and assault against him.
If Brown does join the team sooner rather than later, they could go from potent to downright scary, as Tom Brady already has arguably the best receiving duo in the league with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, plus a rejuvenated Rob Gronkowski and Edelman clone Scotty Miller.
The potential downside is that Brown's antics end up destroying the team's developing chemistry but head coach Bruce Arians made it clear that "we're going to have problems" if Brown starts stirring up trouble. It's a pretty ideal situation for the Bucs, as they don't need Brown nearly as much as he needs them, and if he proves to be too much of a headache, they can just dump him without a second thought.
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