Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the water, an exceptionalism surfaces out of the ocean. Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown will be eligible to sign with teams in two weeks’ time as he completes the serving of an eight-game suspension, and according to ESPN, there will be plenty of interest in his services.
The frontrunner appears to be arguably the best team in football, the Seattle Seahawks, who have already been known to have expressed interest in him in the past. In fact, Brown even worked out with Russell Wilson this offseason. He would join an already very talented group of wide receivers including D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett.
“We’ll see what happens as we go forward, but we’re tuned into what’s happening there”, Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll told the media when he was asked about the report that the team is actively pursuing Brown when he becomes available to be signed.
It should be noted that while his suspension is nearly over, the NFL continues to investigation Brown for the original incident for which he came under fire, when a former acquaintance and personal trainer accused him of rape. There is a civil case ongoing.
“All I can tell you is we’re in on everything”, Carroll said. “We know about Josh’s situation as well and we’ll take them as they come kinda and hopefully we’re really well prepared to make the right choices and figure out how it fits and all that kind of stuff, so those situations are not connected. They’re handled independently”.
Seattle is the last remaining unbeaten team in the NFC, joining the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Tennessee Titans in the AFC. All three times have already had their bye week, with the Seahawks having been idle this past week.
Brown last played in the NFL in week two of the 2019 season, playing in one game for the New England Patriots before being released because of further allegations surfacing that he had intimidated a second woman accusing him of sexual harassment.
The suspension that he is serving stems from both that situation and from his January arrest, after he assaulted the driver of a moving van who was transferring his belongings back to his Florida residence after moving out west when he was briefly an offseason member of the Oakland Raiders.
It’s been a wild ride for the former perennial All-Pro since he forced the Steelers to trade him about a year and a half ago, but in spite of his many personal hurdles, and potential crimes, it sounds as though he is on the cusp of returning to the NFL, even though he has claimed multiple times to be retiring.
