Baltimore Ravens have been wise to avoid Antonio Brown saga
While the Baltimore Ravens have been hurting for wide receiver help for quite some time, props are in order for the franchise for avoiding Antonio Brown.
It’s not often that a slam-dunk Hall of Fame talent becomes widely available to nearly every NFL team. Still, that’s precisely what happened to Antonio Brown and the Pittsburgh Steelers this off-season. Brown, who is universally seen as one of, if not the, best receivers of the 2010s. Even at 31-years old, Brown remains dominant. So, why did he get traded for nothing?
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Simply put, he forced his way out of Pittsburgh after burning any and all bridges with the team. Unfortunately for the team who traded for him, the Oakland Raiders, he continued to be a headache and cancer to the team, leading to his release just one day before the start of the 2019 season.
It didn’t take long for “AB” to find a new team, as the New England Patriots snatched him up quickly. It hardly seems fair to see the defending NFL Champs to obtain Antonio Brown’s services, but their hands will be full with his B.S. sooner rather than later.
If you’re reading this, however, you know all this and are waiting for me to tie in the Baltimore Ravens to this situation. I’ll keep it simple: The Baltimore Ravens deserve serious props for staying the hell away from Antonio Brown and the circus act that he is.
Every single Ravens fan knows how badly the team has needed a top-tier wide receiver and the struggles and heartaches that we’ve endured in our search. When Antonio Brown first became a sellable piece from the Steelers, many fans wanted to acquire him. Instead, Baltimore backed off this interest from the fans despite his talent.
It seemed like a forgone conclusion that all Antonio Brown needed was a change of scenery, but that’s proven to not be the case. The fact of the matter is that Brown is simply too much of a diva for any team to handle.
The Raiders staff features both Jon Gruden and Mike Mayock, two very well-respected individuals in the football world. Yet, they were embarrassed and harassed by Brown’s antics. There’s little reason to believe that the Ravens would’ve been as patient as they were, and it’s for the best that he never even had a chance to visit the team.
At the end of the day, the Baltimore Ravens have addressed their need for wide receiver talent via the 2019 NFL Draft. The additions of Marquise Brown, ironically Antonio’s cousin, and Miles Boykin look to be foundational pieces we’ve yet to see at the position. Leaning on the youngsters is a much better investment than gambling on the clown that “AB” is.
Of course adding a talent like Antonio Brown was always tempting; you’d be a fool to deny that. Nonetheless, it was always a risky move and the Ravens showed the smarts to stray as far away as possible from the horrendous train wreck that Brown became. Based off new General Manager Eric DeCosta’s first off-season, it’s fair to say it appears that he knows what he’s doing.
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Hindsight is always 20/20, but credit must be given to DeCosta and the rest of the Baltimore Ravens staff for avoiding Antonio Brown like the plague. Sometimes, believe it or not, NFL teams know better than the fans… the saga. Of Antonio Brown and the Oakland Raiders proved this, and it should be a sigh oof relief that the Ravens dodged such a destructive bullet.