Bruce Arians Will Make A Decision on Antonio Brown 'Later In This Week'

The Buccaneers head coach has put out a timeline regarding the decision on Brown's future with the team.

We are entering the final week of Antonio Brown's and Mike Edwards' three-game suspensions for submitting fake COVID-19 vaccination cards to the Buccaneers and the NFL and per Bruce Arians, a decision will be made on both players' fates "later in this week".

Arians recently appeared on the Dan Patrick show and was asked about the current circumstances surrounding both players. As of right now, the Bucs are keeping it close to the chest about their upcoming decision(s) and for good reason(s). Announcing the decision early does nothing to benefit the Buccaneers - it only serves the interests of Brown and Edwards as it gives them a head start on potentially finding a new home. It's completely logical to assume the Bucs aren't worried about what's in their best interests after both players lied to and manipulated the team.

"It could go either way right now, it really could," Arians told Patrick in regard to which way he's leaning when it comes to making his decision. "We'll just continue [to see] where those two guys are at and where the team's at."

Tampa Bay is 2-0 since Brown was suspended and are averaging 31.5 points over the last two weeks. Tom Brady has completed nearly 71% of his passes for 731 yards, six touchdowns and one interception against the Falcons and Bills, so the offense hasn't missed a beat since Brown was suspended. 

In regard to Edwards - he is valuable depth and the team is currently dealing with injuries to both starting safeties in Jordan Whitehead and Antoine Winfield Jr.. Therefore, Edwards likely has a leg up on Brown when it comes to Arians' "see where the team's at" statement. Right now, it's safe to say the Bucs need Edwards more than they do Brown.

And there's the whole scenario with Arians saying Brown is gone after one mistake when the Bucs initially signed AB back in 2020. Edwards isn't under that stipulation and he also doesn't have the track record that Brown has. But, what Edwards did was just as bad as what Brown did; so, the Bucs could very well let him go in order to not keep things on even scale, but to send a message, as well. 

You can check out the full interview, here.

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