Why the 49ers Should NOT Sign Antonio Brown

Antonio Brown is available and Deebo Samuel temporarily is not.

Should the 49ers sign Brown?

Samuel broke his foot and will miss at least the next three months. He could miss even more time. Wide receiver Trent Taylor missed the entire 2019 season with the same injury.

Brown is the best wide receiver of the past 10 years -- he’s better than Samuel. And the NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger believes the 49ers should sign Brown.

Here’s what Baldinger said recently about Brown on 95.7 The Game in San Francisco:

“He has been working out with Deion Sanders this whole offseason. He hasn’t been on social media, hasn’t been on Twitter. He has been quietly working out with Deion. Deion’s son has been working out with Tom Brady. There’s no question he wants to come back and play. His debut in Oakland was a disaster. Would it be different under Kyle Shanahan, Jimmy Garoppolo, John Lynch? Would (Brown) be a professional? Would he be a great team player? I think you have to make the phone call and just have the conversation with him. Just see where he’s at mentally. I don’t know where the league is at with him with some of the transgressions that are up against him right now and what that does to him, but I would make the phone call. He was the league’s best receiver before he just sort of collapsed and fell out of favor.”

.@BaldyNFL thinks the 49ers should call Antonio Brown after news of Deebo Samuel's broken foot.

📻 @957thegame
— Audacy Sports (@AudacySports) June 18, 2020

Baldinger is extremely sharp, and I agree that Brown was the league’s best receiver as recently as 2018 -- his last full season in the NFL. But Baldinger glossed over a few things.

First, Brown didn’t “just sort of collapse” and “fall out of favor” on the Steelers. He quit on them during a playoff push. Abandoned the team and didn’t say why or when he would return. Completely disrespected head coach Mike Tomlin and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger -- two Super Bowl champions. Brown is not a champion.

Then the Steelers traded Brown to the Raiders, and he got himself kicked off the team before the season started. A land-speed record.

The Raiders cut Brown, and the Patriots signed him because if Brown would respect any quarterback-head-coach combo, it would be Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. But the Patriots had to cut Brown after just one game, because a woman accused him of sexual misconduct. That’s one of the “transgressions” Baldinger referred to.

Sexual misconduct is a serious accusation.

Notice no teams have shown interest in Brown. Brady loves him, and Brady now is on the Buccaneers. The fact the Bucs haven’t signed Brown already tells you everything you need to know.

Brown has major issues, plus he’s a diva. He wants as many passes as possible every game, or he’s unhappy. The 49ers don’t employ divas. They avoid them.

If Brown didn’t respect Tomlin and Roethlisberger, why would he respect Shanahan and Garoppolo?

Brown doesn’t seem to respect anyone, so I doubt any team will sign him, let alone the 49ers.