WATCH: Bruce Arians Speaks out on Antonio Brown after release
BUCCANEERS RELEASE BROWN, DENY HIS CLAIMS: The Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially released Antonio Brown on Thursday (January 6th), terminating his contract four days after he stripped off his pads and top and walked off the sideline shirtless during the Bucs game against the New York Jets. The Bucaneers also responded to claims Brown made Wednesday that he hadn't wanted to go back in the game because he was too hurt to keep playing on his injured ankle, and had told that to head coach Bruce Arians. The team said he been cleared to play by the medical team before the game, and, quote, "at no point during the game did he indicate to our medical personnel that he could not play."
Arians also denied that Brown told him or the medical staff about his ankle during the game, and said Brown had been agitated at halftime about not getting the targets he was expecting. Arians said that when he asked Brown why he didn't want to go in, he answered, "I ain't getting the ball," and Arians said, "That's when I said [to him], 'You're done, get the F out of here.'"