Antonio Brown needs a job before he can come after Julio Jones

Brown still thinks he's the best receiver in the game, even though he isn't in football at the moment.

For now, while the COVID-19 pandemic wreaks havoc on American society, everyone is at home, waiting it out. That includes both Julio Jones and Antonio Brown.

But whenever life gets back to normal and the NFL season begins, Jones will go back to work.

Brown will remain at home, out of a job with no professional team willing to take a chance on him. He has no one to blame for that but the man in the mirror.

Given his NFL career is likely over, Brown’s recent comment on Instagram Live, claiming he’s the best wide receiver in football, is laughable.

“I’m the best wide receiver in the game,” Brown said. “Tell Julio to look up the stats. I got more touchdowns than Julio Jones had in the past five years and I took a year off.”

Crowning yourself as the best wide-out in football is a bold proclamation. Especially from someone who isn’t even a part of the game at this point.

There was a time when Brown had a legitimate claim as the league’s best pass-catcher. In the past five years, the former Steelers star caught 405 balls for over 6,000 yards and 47 touchdowns.

To be fair, Jones since 2015 has just 31 touchdowns, though his total of 7,794 receiving yards during that period blows Brown out of the water, mostly because Brown couldn’t keep himself out of trouble to stay on the field in 2019. 

Now, Brown’s only way of creating headlines is making ridiculous comments on social media in a desperate plea to stay relevant. He’s the yappy dog who won’t stop barking, even when you put him outside, because he can’t go without attention.

There’s a reason that Brown will never play another down of professional football. He has been given chance after chance and squandered each of them.

After becoming an absolute headache for the Steelers organization, Brown was traded to the Oakland Raiders. There, he quickly wore out his welcome after a verbal altercation with general manager Mike Mayock.

Shortly after a suspension was handed down, then revoked, the Raiders released Brown without cutting a single check to the distraction of a superstar.

Brown was quickly scooped up by the Patriots where he played just one game before being released once again after allegations of rape and sexual assault surfaced against Brown, which he has since denied.

Out of the sport, Brown still found a way to generate news. He was arrested in January of this year on charges of felony burglary and battery. His agent cut ties with him shortly after.

Meanwhile, Jones put up another monster season in 2019, reeling in 99 receptions for 1,394 yards and six touchdowns.

Brown had just four catches for 56 yards. Other significant stats include two releases, one arrest and countless excuses on social media.

With Brown out of the league for the foreseeable future, any statement coming from his mouth on his current playing ability is worthless. He blew his chance to back it up in the field thanks to egotistical antics.

Brown coming after a player like Jones is ridiculous. Jones is everything Brown could never live up to.

Jones, unlike many other high-end players, has come into Atlanta, put up huge numbers and stayed out of the limelight. In every sense of the word, Julio Jones is a professional.

In no way, shape or form can Brown claim the same. Both in temperament and in current job status, Brown neither carries himself in a professional manner nor plays the game professionally anymore.

Jones has shown no signs of slowing down over the past few years. The Falcons legend’s legacy has been cemented as one of the all-time greats. He is a shoe-in for the Hall of Fame after his playing days are over.

He’ll end up on highlight reels once again this season for jaw-dropping grabs and clutch plays, just like normal.

Brown has one card left to play in the game of relevance and that’s through social media non-sense. In some ways, maybe I’m playing into his strategy by paying any attention to what he has to say at all.

But when football is back, whenever that may be, the noise will be drowned out by actual professionals producing actual results.

Brown will be at home watching, just like the rest of us.