AB Watch II: Quarantonio Brown

bsj

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Regarding the suits- he wants $ from the Raiders, and then he wants $ from the Patriots. That would be $40 million.

if he were to win the Raiders suit (which I dont expect but playing out a hypothetical) can he also win the Patriots one which would mean he effectively is counting against the cap/collecting salary from both teams? It almost seems like he is not being made whole in that setup but actually being enriched beyond what was actually ever possible.
 

RoDaddy

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Would an apology to Kraft change the possibility of Brown returning to the Pats, say written by Drew Rosenhaus and apologized by AB as humbly as he is capable? Granted he may very well not be able to do this, but say he could and would?
 

Ralphwiggum

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Sorry I texted one of my accusers and threatened her family. Also sorry I reminded everyone about your massage parlor handie. Take me back Bob?
 

joe dokes

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Sharp-as-a-bowling-ball Ben Volin says it should happen. That he hasn't been put on the exempt list yet is evidence he won't be, said Ben. I read it fast, but I don't think he took into account that there's no exempt list for guys not on rosters.
No link. The piece is just so stupid. Even for him. Mid-season form, I guess.
 

Willie Clay's Big Play

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I follow these theads pretty well, I like to think. Don't post much, many people smarter and better connected than myself, but a note/grovelling isn't a realistic roadmap.

The thread title says it all "He's Gone.." that's the reality.
 

DennyDoyle'sBoil

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I know the hot take is to interpret AB’s posting as to say it’s a serious suggestion by AB about coming back. But isn’t he really just trying to rub everyone’s nose in the fact that he is going to (he believes) get paid for nothing? I think he’s feeling a little powerless and this is just a nah nah nah to give himself the illusion that he’s in control of things and is the smart one. For any serious person to suggest it’s a reunion invitation in earnest is just really absurd.
 

dcmissle

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Sharp-as-a-bowling-ball Ben Volin says it should happen. That he hasn't been put on the exempt list yet is evidence he won't be, said Ben. I read it fast, but I don't think he took into account that there's no exempt list for guys not on rosters.
No link. The piece is just so stupid. Even for him. Mid-season form, I guess.
Volin forgets or ignores that the evidence is different now than when AB took the field for the Pats. The alleged sexual assault victim has been interviewed by the League. It would be so easy for Goodell to say, that was then, this is now > to the Exempt List you go.

Importantly, I think the League wants AB nowhere near an NFL game for the balance of 2019. Nor should be Pats. You can’t rely on him to paint by the numbers for any period of time more than a week. It really is that simple.
 

lexrageorge

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Volin forgets or ignores that the evidence is different now than when AB took the field for the Pats. The alleged sexual assault victim has been interviewed by the League. It would be so easy for Goodell to say, that was then, this is now > to the Exempt List you go.

Importantly, I think the League wants AB nowhere near an NFL game for the balance of 2019. Nor should be Pats. You can’t rely on him to paint by the numbers for any period of time more than a week. It really is that simple.
Volin raised 3 points, only one of which was new info, and the other 2 were inaccurate:

1.) The woman who accused Brown of rape has withdrawn her lawsuit in Federal court, and refiled it in the state court of Florida.

2.) Volin either ignored or wasn't aware of the fact that the NFL has no reason to place Brown on the Exempt list if he is not on an NFL roster.

3.) Volin did not do a good analysis of the cap implications. There would be nothing to stop the Pats from offering Brown the same contract in exchange for dropping the grievances. There may need to be some manipulation of his 2019 per-game salary, but that would not be a showstopper.
 

Smiling Joe Hesketh

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Volin also just went on the radio and said that sponsorship pressure played no role in AB's release....which directly contradicts a report by Volin himself that sponsors did play a role.

He's absolutely useless.
 

Harry Hooper

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Volin did not do a good analysis of the cap implications. There would be nothing to stop the Pats from offering Brown the same contract in exchange for dropping the grievances. There may need to be some manipulation of his 2019 per-game salary, but that would not be a showstopper
.

While the Pats could sign Brown to a new contract and he could drop the grievances, for NFL salary cap purposes the original contract would seem to still be on the books. The player was released. The team and the player can't do a nevermind with the NFL. Given available cap space today, the new contract would have to be considerably different, wouldn't it?

Note: please apply the usual disclaimer for indulging in an absurd hypothetical (Brown's return).
 

lexrageorge

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.

While the Pats could sign Brown to a new contract and he could drop the grievances, for NFL salary cap purposes the original contract would seem to still be on the books. The player was released. The team and the player can't do a nevermind with the NFL. Given available cap space today, the new contract would have to be considerably different, wouldn't it?

Note: please apply the usual disclaimer for indulging in an absurd hypothetical (Brown's return).
Yes. The only part of the contract that is still on the books is the guaranteed money. Granted, the team would still have to pay Brown his game day salaries for each week he would be on the roster, and there is a floor on the amount of that salary. And the team's cap situation has changed a bit since his release. But the way it would work assuming we were all magically transported to Fantasyland:

Brown drops his grievances in exchange for the Pats paying him his bonus money from his old contract; that cap space is already gone, so no change there. AB signs new contract with no new bonus money, but at a salary that would fit into the Pats existing cap space, possibly with new NLTBE incentives.

Now, if Volin wanted to, he could have stated what the league minimum salary is (roughly $1M for Brown), the team's cap space (roughly $3M from my quick Google search), and suggested something along those lines.

I feel bad I'm wasting internet bits. As none of this happening disirregardless.
 

joe dokes

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Volin raised 3 points, only one of which was new info, and the other 2 were inaccurate:

1.) The woman who accused Brown of rape has withdrawn her lawsuit in Federal court, and refiled it in the state court of Florida.

2.) Volin either ignored or wasn't aware of the fact that the NFL has no reason to place Brown on the Exempt list if he is not on an NFL roster.

3.) Volin did not do a good analysis of the cap implications. There would be nothing to stop the Pats from offering Brown the same contract in exchange for dropping the grievances. There may need to be some manipulation of his 2019 per-game salary, but that would not be a showstopper.
and 1) is irrelevant.
 

DeadlySplitter

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bottom line is AB robbed us valuable cap space with his batshit craziness. we may pull off a good trade anyways, but we could have filled a lot more holes if AB's lawsuit had come out just a week earlier.

this stupid story of him coming back only has steam because the Pats look bad on O. why? injuries and a lack of talent in the receiving group. Once the Pats hopefully regroup and come on strong in November with some other reinforcement that isn't batshit crazy, the story will die down again.

if we don't win it all this year, hey it's football and there's a lot of luck and injuries and we've seen it all, but AB would be a significant reason why. Bill figured he'd get the most elite talent for only money, when he should have just given up the draft picks he's going to have to give up anyways now.
 

dcmissle

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If TB12 went to Kraft and asked for AB back, given BB is on board and the cap $ is gone anyway, does Kraft* give in and say yes?

View: https://twitter.com/JumboHart/status/1183035978476408832?s=20


P. S. He'll also have to call in a favor from Goodell as not to put AB on the exempt list
AB wants everything resolved with NFL before any return, so he is keenly aware of the Exempt List’s drag on his market. In this piece, NFL basically reserved the right to do whatever it pleases.

https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/27827529/sources-antonio-brown-wants-field-issues-resolved-nfl-return
 

E5 Yaz

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Brady should use the threat of leaving or retirement in that talk with Kraft to get AB back.
Oh c'mon, Brady's going to risk a 20-year professional relationship over a guy accused of rape and/or sexual assault?

The minute the Patriots, or any other team, brings Brown into the fold, the NFL steps in and puts him onto the exempt list until they decide further punishment.

This pipedream that somehow Antonio Brown is walking through that door to shore up this season's Patriots receiving corps needs to end.
 

Reverend

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If TB12 went to Kraft and asked for AB back, given BB is on board and the cap $ is gone anyway, does Kraft* give in and say yes?

View: https://twitter.com/JumboHart/status/1183035978476408832?s=20


P. S. He'll also have to call in a favor from Goodell as not to put AB on the exempt list
I proposed before that getting kicked off the Patriots might be the one that actually stings for AB, because joining the team meant to him that he was being recognized as the crime de la creme and now that’s gone for him; there is no other, better team out there to recognize his greatness. So this isn’t like leaving Pittsburgh or Oakland; he had his shot and he blew it in a way that would mean a lot more to AB. Making it in NE was going to prove to everyone everything he wanted them to know.

So is this the bargaining stage or what?
 

lexrageorge

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Sounds like he's trying to get the league to interview him soon with regards to the rape/sexual assault allegations. Roger doesn't seem to be in a hurry.

The article made it clear that no team is going to sign Brown while the possibility of the exempt list lingers. If he hadn't sent those texts, the decision as to whether exempt or suspend Brown would have been made by now, or would have been pushed into the offseason.
 

JCizzle

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He is in a rush to make all his issues go away, yet apparently acted like a total dick in his recent deposition. Maybe he acts more professionally during an interview with the NFL, but his recent track record points to that being highly unlikely.
 

SeoulSoxFan

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I proposed before that getting kicked off the Patriots might be the one that actually stings for AB, because joining the team meant to him that he was being recognized as the crime de la creme and now that’s gone for him; there is no other, better team out there to recognize his greatness.
I completely agree with this. That may be the only reason for AB to continue to mention the Patriots while in exile.

Would I be surprised if TB is still in communication with AB, much more so than the occasional "likes" to the enigmatic WR's social media musings? Nope.

Besides our own feelings towards AB's return to NE or with any NFL team, it is still not out of the question that he will play somewhere this year.
 

InstaFace

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I proposed before that getting kicked off the Patriots might be the one that actually stings for AB, because joining the team meant to him that he was being recognized as the crime de la creme and now that’s gone for him; there is no other, better team out there to recognize his greatness. So this isn’t like leaving Pittsburgh or Oakland; he had his shot and he blew it in a way that would mean a lot more to AB. Making it in NE was going to prove to everyone everything he wanted them to know.

So is this the bargaining stage or what?
Not sure I agree. The contracting process after the Oakland release sounded like a straight-cash-homey bidding war. Like most top pro athletes, it's not the money per se, it's the "respect" that the money suggests. We won that bidding war but it was our cash, not our mystique, that got it done.
 

Reverend

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Not sure I agree. The contracting process after the Oakland release sounded like a straight-cash-homey bidding war. Like most top pro athletes, it's not the money per se, it's the "respect" that the money suggests. We won that bidding war but it was our cash, not our mystique, that got it done.
I dunno, he even mentioned Tom Brady during his helmet kerfuffle in Oakland in a way that struck me as provocative.
 

InstaFace

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Because Tom Brady had a helmet kerfuffle? And was granted a year's grace period, which he wasn't, for which he felt aggrieved?

I place more weight on him making friends with Brady during his brief stint here, up to and including living in Brady's house, than on that particular instance of whining.
 
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kartvelo

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I proposed before that getting kicked off the Patriots might be the one that actually stings for AB, because joining the team meant to him that he was being recognized as the crime de la creme and now that’s gone for him; there is no other, better team out there to recognize his greatness. So this isn’t like leaving Pittsburgh or Oakland; he had his shot and he blew it in a way that would mean a lot more to AB. Making it in NE was going to prove to everyone everything he wanted them to know.
Apologies for the low-value interruption, but I wanted to acknowledge this turn of phrase.
 

Jimbodandy

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Nobody is bringing back a guy who can't stop antagonizing one of his accusers in a group chat while he's being investigated by the league and has ongoing civil proceedings. This is elite, all-time-level distraction material. Fuck what happened in Oakland or Pittsburgh. He's incorrigible and can't be trusted. People need to let it go.
 

steveluck7

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Saw this morning that AB is scheduled to meet with the league next week.

Then came this tweet from Antonio

Imagine conforming to a system giving it a 100 percent to see them treat me like this is unfairly ! Making money off my sweat and blood Fuck the @nfl I’ll never play in that shit treat black people the worse! Clear my name and go fuck your self
 

brandonchristensen

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Saw this morning that AB is scheduled to meet with the league next week.

Then came this tweet from Antonio

Imagine conforming to a system giving it a 100 percent to see them treat me like this is unfairly ! Making money off my sweat and blood Fuck the @nfl I’ll never play in that shit treat black people the worse! Clear my name and go fuck your self
Dude is mental.
 

tmracht

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Wow the scorched earth on Kraft and now the Shield, his agent must be so thrilled.
 

lexrageorge

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He really needed a Twitter simulator on his phone. One where he can tweet what he wants and it appears to go onto his feed when it really doesn't. However, the tweets are stored so he can do a massive push to his real Twitter feed the day he retires.
 

Vinho Tinto

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Not sure if serious, but I'm with those who say that the crazier he gets, the better Tomlin looks for keeping him a productive and relatively quiet contributor for so long.
I'm as serious as the large group of fans who still think Tomlin has a magical power to discipline Antonio Brown, against his bosses wishes, like he was an unruly child who just needed a good spanking.
 

KiltedFool

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Heh there's a significant fraction of fans and random articles wondering if concussions have added to the spiral that AB has gone on, culminating in the vicious one he took from Burfict. Dude is batshit crazy now, he wasn't always this bad, but holy crap is he a character from a bad screenplay now.

edit: And anyone who thinks Tomlin could have magically kept Antonio from turning into what he did has never dated a crazy woman. You can't prevent crazy, you can only hope to slow down and mitigate it's impact.
 

FL4WL3SS

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Heh there's a significant fraction of fans and random articles wondering if concussions have added to the spiral that AB has gone on, culminating in the vicious one he took from Burfict. Dude is batshit crazy now, he wasn't always this bad, but holy crap is he a character from a bad screenplay now.

edit: And anyone who thinks Tomlin could have magically kept Antonio from turning into what he did has never dated a crazy woman. You can't prevent crazy, you can only hope to slow down and mitigate it's impact.
It's not only women that are crazy, fyi