Tampa Bay signed Antonio Brown last week, and some of us shook our heads. Why would the Bucs risk bringing in that head case (how's your helmet, man?) and character risk to a potential Super Bowl team? Turns out it makes some sense after all.
As Bruce Arians points out, the Bucs are banged-up at receiver. The team has five different players who have averaged at least 35 receiving yards this season, and three of them are out for this week, out for the year, or playing hurt; maybe a fourth. If they're going to remain on top in the NFC South, they can use a guy like Brown.
“Offensively we’ve been struggling all year with injuries," Arians told Peter King. "I wanna be able to make that playoff push with whoever’s available. And here’s a guy that’s a Pro Bowl type player . . . We’re on the hook for nothing in this deal. He screws up one time, he’s gone.”
Mike Evans (ankle) has been playing hurt all year. Chris Godwin has been in and out of the lineup with various injuries, and now he has a fractured finger -- he's already been ruled out for Week 8. Scotty Miller has a hip injury. Of their five best receivers this season (yards per game), the healthiest one is Old Man Gronkowski.
| BUCS MAIN PASS CATCHERS THIS YEAR | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | G | Tgt | No | Yds | TD | No/G | Y/G | Status |
| Chris Godwin | 4 | 29 | 25 | 279 | 2 | 6.3 | 69.8 | Out at least Week 8 |
| Scott Miller | 7 | 32 | 22 | 365 | 2 | 3.1 | 52.1 | Hurting |
| Mike Evans | 7 | 39 | 25 | 318 | 6 | 3.6 | 45.4 | Hurting |
| Rob Gronkowski | 7 | 36 | 22 | 280 | 2 | 3.1 | 40.0 | Old |
| O.J. Howard | 4 | 19 | 11 | 146 | 2 | 2.8 | 36.5 | Out for year |
So enter Brown, and he'll be eligible to play in Week 9. When that happens (barring a further suspension), who knows? He might be their healthiest pass catcher and a starter by then.
I'm not a huge fan, and if there are more skeletons in his closet, Brown will face a further suspension. I think his over-under for how many games he'll play this season needs to be considerably less than eight.
But if you're in a fantasy league where Brown is available, he needs to be scooped up. Could be a significant player as long as he's on the team.
--Andy Richardson