On Friday, the New England Patriots officially released wide receiver Antonio Brown after he had played in his first game with the team on Sunday. Brown scored a touchdown in the team’s win and fans were ready to root for him as part of the team. However, his Patriots’ career was shortlived.
As Brown faces accusations from one woman of sexual assault and allegations of inappropriate conduct from another woman, the Patriots cut him from their roster. With that in mind, it has fans wondering who will be the next team to sign Antonio Brown? Will the NFC’s Seahawks or Saints offer Brown his next landing spot?
Seahawks’ Pete Carroll weighs in on Brown potential
The Seahawks and Saints were mentioned in recent headlines involving Antonio Brown. Seattle is off to an undefeated start thanks to Russell Wilson. Adding another receiving threat certainly wouldn’t be a bad idea to help boost their chances of returning to the Super Bowl under Wilson and head coach Pete Carroll.
The latter recently gave his thoughts on the Antonio Brown release and potential for a signing. Just about two weeks ago, Seattle was among teams that may have considered signing the receiver after he was cut by Oakland. However, that’s changed in recent days.
Pete Carroll was open to signing Antonio Brown two weeks ago. Not anymore. https://t.co/JTR5jxZJfA
— The Seattle Times (@seattletimes) September 20, 2019
Per the Seattle Times, Pete Carroll spoke after his team’s practice on Friday. When asked about the news involving Brown’s release and the potential to sign him, Carroll replied, “We’re pretty well set right now. We kind of know where we are going with that.” That pretty much keeps the concept of a Russell Wilson to Antonio Brown connection out of the gameplan right now.
Saints’ Sean Payton on Brown signing potential
The next opponent for the Seattle Seahawks will be the New Orleans Saints on Sunday afternoon. They’re a team that was hit by a recent injury to star quarterback Drew Brees, sidelining him for a bit. Once he returns, could he have Antonio Brown as a receiving target to throw to?
Just as the Seahawks’ head coach weighed in on the idea of signing Brown, Saints head coach Sean Payton also replied to the idea when asked about it. Payton seems to have similar sentiments to Carroll.
Sean Payton on the release of Antonio Brown: “right now where we are…I like our depth at that position. I haven’t paid much attention. I’m focused on the guys here.”
— Dianna (@diannaESPN) September 20, 2019
The Saints are definitely in need of some additional talent at the wide receiver position. The roster currently includes veterans Michael Thomas and Ted Ginn Jr., along with rookie Lil’Jordan Humphrey, second-year player Tre-Quan Smith, and Deonte Harris. However, Payton, like Carrol, doesn’t feel Antonio Brown is the answer at the moment. Could another team decide to gamble on the former Steelers Pro Bowler?
Who will sign Antonio Brown as his next team?
Over the past seven months, Antonio Brown has been traded or released from three different NFL teams. It started with a trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Oakland Raiders. After Brown had issues in Oakland during the preseason, he asked for a release from the team. The New England Patriots signed him quickly to a deal, but have now cut him ahead of their Week 3 matchup.
With Brown continuing to deal with the off-field sexual assault allegations from two different women, it seems unlikely too many NFL teams are going to take a risk on him. He’s also proven to be a headache for at least two teams in his career for other reasons. His most recent squad, New England, ended their potential headache as quickly as possible.
Still, there could be a few teams interested in Brown, per NBC Sports ProFootball Talk’s Mike Florio.
For now, the league will continue to investigate the allegations involving Antonio Brown. If things are resolved in his favor, more NFL teams will probably start to show interest. For now, teams erring on the side of caution makes the most sense as Brown’s off-field controversies are dealt with appropriately. The last thing a team wants is to gamble big only to have Brown suspended indefinitely.