Though this shouldn’t come as much of a shock, new reports surfaced once again yesterday that the Baltimore Ravens are among the teams that are interested in the services of free agent wide receiver Antonio Brown, who has been without a job in the NFL since Week Three of the 2019 regular season.
Brown, who spent his first nine seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, forced his way off the team last offseason via trade, landing with the Oakland Raiders, whom he then forced to ultimately release him before the end of training camp. He then signed with the Patriots, playing in one game before they released him after it was revealed that he was actively intimidating an accuser, a woman who alleges that he sexually assaulted her.
Things quickly spiraled out of control for Brown, who continues to face a civil suit stemming from rape allegations of an earlier accuser, a longtime acquaintance going back to college, whom he in more recent years employed as a trainer. She alleges to have experiences multiple incidents of sexual assault on his part, culminating in rape.
The Patriots continued to employ him through this, only relenting to part ways after a second accuser surfaced, and then proof of his intimidating this accuser was presented. He has only received one workout since then, by the New Orleans Saints during the postseason.
In January, he was accused of assaulting the driver of a moving van, and recently pled no contest to battery and burglary charges stemming from that incident, believing that this would be a step toward his returning to the league.
While he has not been suspended, the NFL has reminded on multiple occasions that they have an ongoing investigation of their own pertaining to his recent troubles, and many feel that they are wielding this as a deterrent from any team signing him, since they could immediately step in and place him on the Commissioner’s Exempt List.
The Ravens would be a logical fit, if he were ever to return to football, aside from the fact that they are a heavily run-oriented team. Baltimore drafted his cousin, Marquise Brown, in the first round last season, and both he and All-Pro quarterback Lamar Jackson have gone on record in advocating for his being brought in.
Reportedly, however, they are not the only team that has expressed interest in Brown through internal discussions. The Seattle Seahawks, who had Josh Gordon last year, are also among the teams who would be interested in the services of the perennial Pro Bowler.
