Free agent wide receiver Antonio Brown, who is currently serving an eight-game suspension, is reportedly close to returning to the NFL. His landing spot remains to be seen, but it likely won’t be Buffalo. After all, the Bills tried to trade for Brown in March 2019, but AB nixed the deal.
Any chance the Bills might revisit that?
“I don’t think so,” Pro Football Hall of Famer and Bills legend Andre Reed said on The Zach Gelb Show. “Now that they have Stefon [Diggs], I don’t think that they would . . . entertain it. I believe they’re pretty set at the receiver position. I really like what Gabriel Davis is doing, the rookie from UCF. A big target, he’s a good route runner, he makes the catch, can run after the catch, is a real big asset for them inside the numbers. So I think they’re pretty set there with the receiving corps.”
The Seahawks are reportedly a favorite to land Brown, as Russell Wilson has spoken on AB’s behalf.
If Reed were still playing, he wouldn’t know how to react to a coach telling him they were bringing in AB.
“I’d probably flatline,” Reed said. “I don’t know what I would feel. Obviously what he’s done as a player in the league, he’s a Hall of Famer someday regardless of what’s happened off the field. Does he bring credibility to whatever team he’s going to go to? He was in the running for going to the Seahawks about a year ago, and that would be a great acquisition. I think he’s hungry; he wants to play. It’s just the other side that you’re kind of dreading. You just hope that doesn’t happen if you bring him in like that.”
Brown, 32, was a first-team All-Pro four years in a row from 2014-17. He has twice led the league in receptions, twice led the league in receiving yards, and, in 2018, led the league in touchdowns.
“He still can make plays, probably,” Reed said. “I’m sure he can. He can change a game. Maybe he has a different attitude. I hope he does wherever he goes. . . . Antonio Brown has done some great things in the league. I’m sure if he has the right frame of mind . . . if he’s all about winning, whoever signs him is getting a great player.”