Joe Theismann on Antonio Brown signing in the NFL: He's not the answer
Joe Theismann didn’t exactly leave any shades of gray when it came to the business of Antonio Brown. The Hall of Fame quarterback is telling potential buyers to sell on the idea of signing the wide receiver.
Brown’s trials and tribulations over the past few months have ranged from a reported physical altercation with Oakland Raiders General Manager Mike Mayock to allegations of rape and a looming civil lawsuit. Perhaps the most glaring of red flags to future NFL suitors, that the New England Patriots cut him last week, underscores that there is a liability attached to Brown’s name.
Theismann was asked by TMZ if he, as a former quarterback, would welcome the four-time All-Pro wide receiver into his locker room, knowing full well the baggage that is included.
"I wouldn't want to be on a team with him, simply because a lot of questions that I would be asked during the course of a week would be about him,” Theismann told TMZ.
“It becomes a distraction to be perfectly honest with you. He has issues that he’s dealing with, he’s been on three football teams right now. You don’t know if he’s ever going to be available to you for any extended period of time. There’s no question that he has the ability to catch and run with the football, he does unbelievable things with the football in his hand. There's so much that's going on around his life that it just makes it really tough to say 'I just want to go to work every day and worry about myself.'”
Plenty of teams could use a wide receiver, including Theismann’s former team, the Washington Redskins. The cost and risk might simply not be worth it.
With Brown jettisoned from three NFL teams over the course of this calendar year, and his agent claiming interest from several others, Theismann doesn’t think there’s a good investment for any team in the wide receiver.
“I don’t care who you need, I don’t care what you need,” Theismann said. “The answer would not come up with Antonio Brown. You can give me multiple choice on anyone you want. The one that would not come up Antonio Brown.”