Antonio Brown is signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The seven-time Pro Bowl wide receiver reached an agreement on a one-year deal with the Bucs, sources told ESPN's Adam Schefter, reuniting with Tom Brady after Brown played one game with the New England Patriots in 2019.
Brown was released by the Patriots last September amid off-field allegations. In July, the NFL announced it had suspended Brown for eight games without pay because of multiple violations of the NFL's personal conduct policy. The league also said that any further violations probably would result in harsher discipline. Brown, 32, will be eligible to come off the suspension after Week 8, which means his first game for Tampa could be against the New Orleans Saints in Week 9 on Nov. 8.
Brady had been pushing for the Bucs to sign Brown since the summer, according to Schefter, and Brown also had interest from the Seattle Seahawks.
What could we expect from Brown this season? And where do the Bucs rank in the NFC? Our panel of NFL experts weighs in on what's next:
What's your gut reaction to Antonio Brown signing with the Bucs?
Jenna Laine, Bucs reporter: This is all about the Bucs' injury situation at wide receiver. Mike Evans, who started the year with a hamstring injury and now has an ankle injury, hasn't been able to practice much since Week 4. Chris Godwin has already missed three games because of a concussion and hamstring injuries, and Scotty Miller is still dealing with a hip/groin injury. My biggest concern about the move is Brown's personality. Head coach Bruce Arians said previously that he wasn't a fit for Bucs' locker room, and he's right. Evans, Godwin, Miller and Justin Watson are the least selfish guys you'll meet. Brady is going to have to hold Brown in check.
Mike Clay, fantasy writer: The rich get richer. Tampa Bay is already one of the league's top teams and now -- assuming Brown isn't a shell of his former self -- it will have what is unquestionably the NFL's top wide receiver trio. The Buccaneers are all-in for a Lombardi trophy this season and their efforts will be must-see TV.
Jeremy Fowler, national NFL writer: Tampa Bay has a two-year window to win and will do anything to capitalize. This wasn't the plan, but the Bucs have injuries at receiver and Brady wanted this dating back to the offseason. Making your elite quarterback happy is generally a good thing. Expect this deal to have plenty of incentives to offset Brown's problems off the field.
Dan Graziano, national NFL writer: If we were wondering who's calling the shots in Tampa, we know now. Brady has been pushing for this for months, Arians said in March that it wouldn't happen, and now it's happening. The Bucs are Brady's team.
Kevin Seifert, national NFL writer: The NFL's risk-reward algorithm never changes. Only a player with Brown's elite talent could get a job after compiling his history of disrupting teams and, more recently, off-field incidents that include an accusation of sexual misconduct that's the subject of a civil lawsuit and a countersuit by Brown.
Seth Walder, sports analytics writer: Legitimately surprised. I thought the NFL was done with Brown after multiple allegations of sexual misconduct were levied against him. He pleaded no contest in June to burglary and battery charges stemming from an January altercation with a delivery truck driver. Evidently, I was naive.
The 4-2 Bucs are coming off a big win over Green Bay. Where would you rank them in the NFC?
Laine: They beat the Packers convincingly, but some people seem to think it was a fluke. The Tampa Bay defense dominated the game, with five sacks and two interceptions. But the Bucs also lost in Week 1 to the Saints. We'll have a better idea of where things really stand in Week 9, when the Bucs play New Orleans in Tampa. I'd say the Bucs are second or third in the conference behind Seattle.
Clay: The Bucs entered the season as a top-three team in the NFC, so if we then factor in a 4-2 start, improved play from Brady, a defense that is even better than anticipated and now the addition of Brown, it'd be hard to justify ranking them any lower. Seattle (5-0) is the team to beat, but Tampa Bay isn't far behind.
Fowler: They are good enough to get a top-three seed, probably behind Seattle and Green Bay, but they do hold a tiebreaker over the Packers, which helps. The defense is still the catalyst. Brown makes Tampa better, but this offense has a ton of moving parts that still have to mesh.
Graziano: I have them third behind the Seahawks and Packers, but they play better defense than Seattle, and if the offense comes together consistently, they could move up quickly. I had the Saints ahead of them for a while, but there's weird stuff going on down there, including Michael Thomas missing another game.
Seifert: They're good enough to win the NFC South, and that would put them among the conference's top four teams. But I have a predisposition against NFL "Dream Teams." There isn't a long history of championships for teams who amass a roster of stars all in the same year.
Walder: They're the second-best team in the conference, in my mind, behind Seattle. Tampa's defense is outstanding, and there's probably a higher upside for the offense since it has gotten only three games out of Godwin so far.
Does Tom Brady now have the NFL's best offensive weapons around him?
Laine: It doesn't matter if this group can't stay healthy. Evans and Godwin have been on the field together very little this season, and the Bucs lost O.J. Howard to a ruptured Achilles. Evans has really been only a red zone threat as of late, and I think it's because of the ankle. And Rob Gronkowski doesn't look like the Gronk from a few years ago, although he had a lot of success on some crossing routes last week against the Packers and reached the end zone for the first time as a Buccaneer. He has been limited by a shoulder injury, however.
Clay: I actually think the answer here is yes. And, if it's not, it's close. It's nearly impossible to put together a wide receiver trio better than Godwin, Evans and Brown. Then you have Gronkowski, who has been a full-time player all season and is now coming around in the passing game, and a strong running back room led by the underrated Ronald Jones, as well as Leonard Fournette and LeSean McCoy. We also can't overlook a solid offensive line led by Ali Marpet.
Fowler: No, still going with the Kansas City Chiefs. When Sammy Watkins is your fourth option, you have the deepest offense in the league. But whichever team got Brown -- Tampa Bay or Seattle -- was suddenly going to boast the best three-man receiver rotation. Let's put Tampa at No. 2 for now. Gronk is still slow.
Graziano: No, I still think Andy Dalton does in Dallas. But it won't matter if Brady's offensive line can protect him and Andy's can't.
Seifert: No, at least not indisputably. Patrick Mahomes, who now has Le'Veon Bell on his side, and perhaps Russell Wilson as well might have something to say about that.
Walder: Yes. Before adding Brown, it was an interesting discussion, but neither Seattle nor Kansas City boasts a third option even remotely on Brown's level. Even if he isn't quite the player he was in Pittsburgh, this is the best set of receiving options in the league.