NFL

Tom Brady, Bruce Arians Address Antonio Brown's Mid-Game Meltdown

"He is no longer a Buc," Bruce Arians said of Antonio Brown. "That's the end of the story."

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Bruce Arians addresses Antonio Brown's mid-game meltdown originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers escaped MetLife Stadium with a win over the New York Jets, but the victory was overshadowed by Antonio Brown's antics.

To say he threw a tantrum during Sunday's game would be a massive understatement. Brown entered full-on meltdown mode, stripping his pads and jersey before leaving for the locker room while the Bucs were on offense.

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Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians quickly addressed the Brown situation during his postgame press conference.

"He is no longer a Buc," Arians said. "That's the end of the story. Let's talk about the guys that went out there and won the game."

Just like that, Brown's Bucs tenure -- and potentially his NFL career -- is over after he was given chance after chance to redeem himself. Brown signed with Tampa Bay last season after Tom Brady advocated for him despite his sexual assault allegations, which led to his release from the New England Patriots in 2019. Brown also was suspended for three games earlier this year for obtaining and using a fake COVID-19 vaccine card.

It's unclear what exactly led to Brown's outburst, but reports state Arians benched the 33-year-old prior to the incident.

Brady called for empathy after the game for his friend and former teammate, saying he hopes everyone does what they can to help Brown.

“I mean that’s obviously a difficult situation and um, you know, I think we all want him to...I think everybody should find, uh, you know hopefully do what they can to help him in ways that he really needs it,” Brady said. “We all love him, we care about him deeply, um, you know, we want to see him be at his best, and unfortunately it won’t be with our team, but, you know we have a lot of friendships that will last and again I think the most important thing about football are the relationships with your friends and your teammates, and they go beyond the field."

"I think everyone should be very compassionate and empathetic toward some very difficult things that are happening,” the QB added.

Brady and the Bucs managed to get the job done Sunday without Brown as the ex-Patriots quarterback led a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter. Tampa, which already clinched the NFC South title, wraps its season up next Sunday vs. the Carolina Panthers.

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