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Deadlines produce results. For Antonio Brown, it appeared as though he knew that a deal needed to get done before the NFL Draft otherwise he might see hismelf replaced with one of the upcoming prospects over the weekend. Now, Tom Brady gets his guy back and the Buccaneers have another key piece of their championship run back.
According to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network, the two sides agreed to a deal Wednesday morning;
And another key piece returns for the #Buccaneers. The team has agreed to a deal to bring back WR Antonio Brown, Brown’s agent @ed_waz of @EMGSportsAgents tells me.
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) April 28, 2021
Tom Brady petitioned for Brown to join him in Tampa and wanted him back. Brady gets his wish.
It’s another one year deal, this one for $3.1-million dollars according to Garafolo and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network;
Antonio Brown’s one-year deal with the #Bucs is worth up to $6.25 million with $3.1M fully guaranteed, including a $2M signing bonus, per his agent @ed_waz of @EMGSportsAgents.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) April 28, 2021
A nice payday for the seven-time Pro Bowl WR -- and a chance to help Tampa Bay go for two.
Though his civil suit was settled, the NFL can still discipline him for the case. The suspension Brown served last year was for a different incident, not the case that ultimately ended up being settled a short time ago.
Brown fit in well with the Bucs and stepped up in a big way down the stretch with injuries to Mike Evans and Chris Godwin opening the door for him to become a bigger part of the offense. Brown capped off his run with a second quarter touchdown in Super Bowl LV, Tampa Bay’s third score of the game.
The @Buccaneers will bring back in 2021:
— Field Yates (@FieldYates) April 28, 2021
▫️All 22 Super Bowl starters (only team in the salary cap era to ever do that)
▫️Their top 16 snap-count leaders on offense
▫️Their top 21 snap-count leaders on defense
▫️All coordinators
Unprecedented continuity after a Super Bowl W.
This doesn’t completely take the Buccaneers out of the running for a wide receiver in this weekend’s draft, but it certainly lowers the possibilities greatly. Bringing back the key free agent means all the Bucs receivers are returning. You would expect a bigger role from second year receiver Tyler Johnson this season, but the trio of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, and AB will be the toughest one in the NFL to defend against.