Antonio Brown follows the Houston Texans on Instagram, in another wacky twist for the franchise before the start of the 2019 NFL regular season.
What is going on with the Houston Texans only days away from the start of the 2019 regular season? If this past Saturday wasn’t wild enough with four trades, and the roster cuts without an actual general manager, now the name Antonio Brown is slowly starting to come up with the franchise.
Would there really be interest in Brown from the Texans if he becomes a free agent? We’ve all see what has gone down with Brown from his final year with the Pittsburgh Steelers last season, and now this preseason and training camp with the Oakland Raiders. It hasn’t been pretty.
Would adding Brown as a free agent — if he even becomes one — be worth all that comes with a signing like that?
Sara Jane Harris of The Sporting News wrote this today about the Brown, the Texans, and Instagram:
"“He (Brown) was traded to the Raiders in March. And just in case you’re curious, the only NFL team Brown currently follows on Instagram is the Texans.”"
The last time Brown did something like this it was when he had his falling out with the Steelers, and eventually was traded to the Raiders. In his time with Oakland, Brown has frozen his feet in an injury recovery process, fought with the NFL over a helmet, missed unexcused training camp practices, and most recently was said to have a “heated argument” with Raiders general manager Mike Mayock.
Vic Tafur of The Athletic tweeted the following on the Brown and Mayock situation:
Antonio Brown was unhappy about being fined and had an exchange with #Raiders general manager Mike Mayock on Wednesday. He was held back by a couple of teammates, sources said, and is now facing a team suspension.
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) September 5, 2019
Now the million-dollar question, Will the Raiders release Brown following all of this nonsense Brown has seemly to caused in his short time with Oakland? The other question is this … Would Brown even come to Houston if made an offer?
The positives begin with Brown’s talent and being one of the best wide receivers in the entire NFL. Brown is a very good player, no doubt, and with Ben Roethlisberger as his quarterback, he showcased his skills at the highest levels in Pittsburgh.
Brown in his nine seasons with the Steelers played in 130 games, with 837 receptions for 11,207 yards with 74 touchdown catches. Those numbers, paired with current Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins and quarterback Deshaun Watson, would go a long way for the Texans offense on the scoreboard.
Sources: The #Raiders are not planning to have WR Antonio Brown for Week 1. It’s not clear if it’s a suspension or if he’ll be merely inactive. But those are their plans. He likely will stay away from the team.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 5, 2019
That said, there are the negatives including having Brown on the offense of the Texans with so many young wide receivers on the roster. Would the Texans get the Brown from a few years ago who was all for the team, or the Brown that has arrived at Oakland and is seemly on his way out before even playing in a game because of his actions?
How would Brown influence the current Texans wide receivers? Having Hopkins on the roster would help with that, as everyone knows that Hopkins is the top player on the offense and that he and Watson are who everyone should emulate.
Brown brings a lot of good to a roster as the Raiders felt he could do with their franchise, but that hasn’t worked out for that franchise, and now it looks like a suspension or release is coming.
The Texans are trying to do whatever they can — including trading their first-round picks for the next two seasons — to win in ’19, as they are the defending AFC South champions. If Brown becomes a free agent, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Texans front office and O’Brien keep pushing chips to the middle of the table for this season.
The Texans could sign Brown for the short-term because of the fact they did trade those two first-round picks and are in “win now or else” mode right now. But, if a signing would turn into another Raiders situation, well O’Brien and others would be looking for a new job elsewhere for 2020.
Brown on the Texans would be a sight to behold for sure, but whether it would be of celebration or frustration is the unknown.