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Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown is now eligible to return to the team after serving a three-game suspension for his fake vaccination card fiasco. Brown will once again have a chance to grace the football field and prove the doubters wrong.
When the Buccaneers signed Brown, head coach Bruce Arians was aware of the off-the-field antics. He famously told Peter King on Football Morning in America:
"He screws up one time, he’s gone."
Brown had a decent 2020 season but this year has been full of ups and downs for the wide receiver. What's interesting is that despite all the chaos around his off-the-field issues, he is still on the team's roster. The Buccaneers star took to Twitter to share his thoughts on people who were questioning him returning after his indiscretion.
He tweeted: "Put some RESPECT on my name! All of YALL !!!!"
Antonio Brown fake vaccination saga invites more trouble
The reported fake vaccination card saga has further made things worse for Brown, who was already down with injuries. He was in the news again, albeit for all good reasons, as the Buccaneers suffered a setback on Sunday against the New Orleans Saints after losing wide receiver Chris Godwin for the rest of the year due to an ACL injury.
The fake vaccination news resurfaced on Monday morning as Buccaneers fans pinned their hopes on Brown in the absence of key offensive players. Brown was quick to react to all the hate received on Twitter. He even went on to state that he will share his vaccination card as well in response to Pro Football Talk's tweet about him.
Head coach Arians addressed the media on Monday and was asked by ESPN's Jenna Laine about critics of his bold decision to backtrack on his word when Brown was initially signed.
He said:
"The history has changed since that statement," Arians said. "A lot of things went on last year that I was very proud of him, and I made a decision this was best for our football team."
"I could give a s*** what they think. Only thing I care about is this football team and what’s best for us," Arians finished.
Meanwhile, Godwin's season-ending ACL injury did play a part in Arians' decision to shift his focus on Brown. Stats also suggest that the Buccaneers are a much better offensive team when Brown is on the field.
Brown has played a total of five games this year for the Buccaneers and has caught 29 passes for 418 receiving yards and four touchdowns. Like Rob Gronkowski, Brown is a perfect security blanket for quarterback Tom Brady and when he is on the field, the entire defense has to be aware of where he is.
Brown is likely to be back on Sunday to face the Carolina Panthers.
