Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Antonio Brown will reportedly have surgery on his ankle later this month, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Tampa terminated Brown’s contract Thursday following his dramatic exit from a game against the New York Jets last Sunday.
In a statement, the Bucs said Brown did not indicate he could not play because of an ankle injury.
Brown took off his jersey and left the field shirtless during the third quarter.
“At no point in time during that game did he ever ask the trainer or doctor about his ankle,” head coach Bruce Arians said. “That’s the normal protocol. You go through protocols during games. I was never notified of it. That was the disturbing thing when we were looking for him to go back into the game. He was very upset at halftime about who was getting targeted. We got that calmed down. The players took care of that.
“It started again on the sideline. We called for the personnel group he had played in the entire game. He refused to go in the game. That’s when I looked back and saw him basically wave off the coach. I then went back and approached him about what was going on. (He said) ‘I ain’t playing, what’s going on, I ain’t getting the ball.’ That’s when I said ‘you’re done, get the eff out of here.’ That’s the end of it. We are working on Carolina, that’s the end of the story.”
Brown released his own statement that he was bothered by an ankle injury and needed surgery.
The Bucs (12-4), who have already secured a playoff spot, host the Carolina Panthers in their regular-season finale Sunday.
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