Antonio Brown was wanted on an arrest warrant on three criminal charges, including felony burglary with battery stemming from an incident at his home
Antonio Brown was wanted on an arrest warrant on three criminal charges, including felony burglary with battery stemming from an incident at his home. GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Michael Reaves

There has been speculation that Antonio Brown could join Tom Brady at his new destination. Amid reports that the quarterback is headed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, it appears extremely unlikely that the controversial wide receiver will be tagging along.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, some of Brady’s suitors did get the sense that the six-time Super Bowl champion wanted Brown to be his teammate in his first season away from New England. However, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians reportedly does not want to bring Brown to Tampa Bay.

Arians was the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive coordinator during Brown’s first two seasons with the team. The coach described Brown as a “diva” to ESPN’s Adam Schefter a year ago, and the receiver didn’t take too kindly to those comments.

“There's too much miscommunication, too much ... diva,” Arians said on “The Adam Schefter Podcast” in January 2019, noting that Brown worked as hard as anyone during his time with Pittsburgh. “I've heard so many stories—I like Antonio—he plays as hard as anybody on Sunday, and he practices hard. He's just gotta make better decisions off the field, be on time, do some of those little things.”

Pittsburgh traded Brown to the Las Vegas—then Oakland—Raiders last year. Brown never played a regular-season game for the team and was released just prior to the Raiders’ Week 1 contest.

Brown signed with the Patriots, catching four passes in New England’s Week 2 victory over the Miami Dolphins. He never played another game in the 2019 season, cut by the Patriots after he was accused of sexual assault.

If Brown does sign with a team, he would likely be placed on the Commissioner's Exempt List until his legal issues are resolved. The veteran could face a lengthy suspension.

In January, Brown was charged with burglary with battery, burglary of an unoccupied conveyance and criminal mischief after he and his trainer were accused of hitting the driver of a moving truck.

Brown was the NFL’s most productive receiver from 2013-2018, recording at least 101 catches, 1,284 yards and eight touchdowns in every season. Brown made the Pro Bowl each year and was a four-time First-Team All-Pro selection.

Mike Evans and Chris Godwin will be Brady’s top targets with the Bucs. The two receivers totaled 2,490 yards last season.

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