Bruce Arians ‘Kind of Excited’ About Adding Antonio Brown Amid Bucs’ Injury Woes

David Becker/Associated Press

Tampa Bay Buccaneers offered an explanation for why he changed his tune regarding wide receiver Antonio Brown.

Arians said in a March appearance on CBS Sports Network’s Tiki and Tierney that the Bucs weren’t going to sign Brown, adding he was “not a fit in our locker room” (via ESPN’s Jenna Laine). Tampa Bay confirmed Brown’s arrival on Oct. 28.

“We were real healthy a couple of months ago, and the injuries we’ve gone through with our receiver corps, we just needed some insurance,” Arians said to ESPN’s Lisa Salters regarding the reversal (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). “And when you’re losing Pro Bowl players, very seldom can you ever replace them with one, and somebody that I think’s gonna buy in and adapt to what we wanna do. So we pulled the trigger, and we’re kind of excited about it.”

That meshes with what Fox Sports’ Jay Glazer reported on Oct. 25. According to Glazer, Tom Brady pushed for the Bucs to sign Brown in the offseason, only to meet resistance from Arians. However, Arians conceded he’d reconsider should the receivers already on the team get hurt.

Tampa Bay listed Chris Godwin as out for Monday’s game against the New York Giants, while Scotty Miller is slowed by hip and groin injuries. Mike Evans (ankle) had been on the injury report in recent weeks.

Brown will undoubtedly provide support on the field, but his off-field history has largely overshadowed the move.

The NFL issued an eight-game suspension to Brown for violating the league’s personal conduct policy.

The seven-time Pro Bowler pleaded no contest to a felony burglary with battery charge and two misdemeanors in June. A delivery truck driver had alleged Brown and Brown’s trainer physically assaulted him in Hollywood, Florida.

Sports Illustrated’s Robert Klemko also spoke with a woman who said Brown had made unwanted sexual advances toward her while she was painting a mural at his home. The woman then told Klemko she began receiving “intimidating” texts after the initial report, with one of the numbers involved in the conversation believed to belong to Brown.

The NFL has yet to make an official ruling regarding the civil suit filed against Brown in September 2019. One of his former trainers alleged he sexually assaulted her twice in 2017 before raping her in May 2018.

Shortly before Brown signed with the Buccaneers, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported the 32-year-old was “laying low” and working out in preparation for a return to the NFL.

According to CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora, Brady continued to lobby on Brown’s behalf and “personally vouched for the troubled receiver in conversations with the coaching staff and management.”