Column: Buccaneers Keeping Antonio Brown Is Hypocritical, But Necessary

Just over a year ago when Antonio Brown signed with Tampa Bay, Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians made one thing clear: If Brown did as much as step one toe out of line, Arians would help push the talented wide receiver's nine remaining toes to the free agent market.

Arians' threat at the time - “[Brown] screws up one time, he’s gone" - was sensical. Brown had previously been out of football for a season and a half while facing civil charges for sexual assault as well as felony burglary and misdemeanor battery, cases that emerged in 2019 and 2020.

In fact, Arians made it clear that he wasn't even considering signing Brown last season up until the team pulled the trigger. In March 2020, Arians specifically said the team wouldn't bring Brown on board as, from Arians' experiences with the receiver in Pittsburgh, he was "not a fit in our locker room."

Yet, Arians caved months later as his team signed Brown in October 2020. He caved again this week when he announced that the Buccaneers would welcome Brown back from his three-game suspension for misrepresenting his COVID-19 vaccination status - he obtained and used a fake vaccine card to avoid the NFL's protocols for unvaccinated players, which put his teammates and coaches at risk of catching the virus.

Such an act, undeniably, qualifies as a screw-up.

Arians did offer an honest assessment on the decision to keep Brown when he spoke with reporters on Monday, saying that he'd "seen enough" out of Brown over the past year and that was the catalyst in his decision to change his mind. Love it or hate it, people are allowed to change their mind at the end of the day.

"Well, the history has changed since that statement," said Arians. "A lot of things went on last year that I was very proud of him and I made a decision that this is best for our football team."

Was it the right thing to do in this situation, though? Judging from afar: It doesn't seem that way.

When it comes to Brown, it's also to fair to wonder if and when the next screw-up is coming and how bad is it going to be. If he's still a Buccaneer, what happens then?

Regardless, Arians' decision to keep Brown on the roster following the suspension can be summed up in several different ways. When it comes to the scale of the situation, people can't be blamed if it comes off as hypocritical or if they think it's just a matter of Brown earning his keep with his head coach. It can be both, but the Bucs keeping Brown leans more toward the former and not the latter.

However, now, Brown's return is not just appreciated by his teammates - it's highly welcomed, and necessary at this point.

The Buccaneers lost two star receivers to injury during Sunday night's loss to the New Orleans Saints, with varying recovery timetables for each player. Chris Godwin, who is Tom Brady's No. 1 target and the team's leading receiver this season, will miss the rest of the year with a torn ACL. Mike Evans, Tampa Bay's leader in touchdown receptions in 2021, is considered week-to-week with a hamstring injury.

On top of losing the two receivers, running back Leonard Fournette - who ranks only behind Godwin in targets this season with 69 - also injured his hamstring and is likely to go on IR, as well.

Tampa Bay's all-star receiving corps suffered major blow after major blow within 60 minutes of game clock this past weekend, which all but assured that Brown would be welcomed back as the team pushes forward with hopes to clinch the NFC South, a spot in the 2021 playoffs, and a second consecutive Super Bowl title.

Brown undoubtedly offers the Buccaneers' offense a skill-set that it can't pass up without Godwin or Evans in the fold, and when each receiver is available, Brown's presence serves as a cherry on top of the NFL's most explosive offense this year.

To Arians, that is enough justification to not stick to his word right now. Although, it's fair to wonder if he needed the justification in the first place, as he's failed to follow through on his word regarding Brown before.

Stay tuned to AllBucs for further coverage of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and other NFL news and analysis. Follow along on social media at @SIBuccaneers on Twitter and Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sports Illustrated on Facebook.