Antonio Brown rumors: Buccaneers could cut WR after vaccine debacle, report says

AB may be out of TB soon.

It was recently revealed that, despite his urgings, Antonio Brown is, in fact, unvaccinated and was parading around a phony vaccination card to the Buccaneers and the league. 

While the league suspended Brown for the offense (they carefully worded his suspension as a “misrepresentation of his vaccination status”), the Bucs might not be done yet: According to Mike Florio of NBC’s Pro Football Talk, Tampa Bay is considering cutting Brown for his transgression. 

MORE: What you need to know about Antonio Brown’s suspension

“I’m told that the (NFL players) union specifically avoided the phrase ‘fake vaccination card’ because there is some concern that there could be federal prosecution for any of the players who did, indeed, produce a fake vaccine card,” Florio said on Sunday. “As for Brown’s future, when he joined the team in October of 2020, head coach Bruce Arians told our Peter King, that if Brown screws up one time, he’s gone.

“Now, I’m told that they actually are considering cutting him. They won’t have to make a decision until he’s eligible to return to the team.”

The NFL’s investigation discovered that Brown was, in fact, faking his vaccination status, which is a big no-no for the league (and really, the United States of America). The league decided to suspend Brown three games — a reportedly shorter term than the league initially planned because Brown agreed to not appeal.

The world was made aware of Brown’s status after his former personal chef, Steven Ruiz, said Brown has been using a fake vaccination card. Brown reportedly stiffed Ruiz on payments.

Arians, the Bucs’ head coach, claimed that the team was 100 percent vaccinated prior to the start of the season, a statement that is now categorically false. To Florio’s point, Arians has also been blunt in the past on Brown and his tendency to make off-the-field headlines:

“If he screws up one time, he’s gone,” Arians said in October 2020.

Well, this would qualify as “screwing up.” We’ll see where the Bucs go from here.