Antonio Brown has been highly critical of the NFL for dragging out its investigation into his conduct violations, but the star receiver finally received an answer from the league on Friday.
Brown has been suspended for eight games for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy. Robert Klemko of the Washington Post was the first to report the news.
Antonio Brown (free agent) is being suspended for 8 games for violation fo the NFL personal conduct policy, beginning whenever he signs, per league source.
— robertklemko (@RobertKlemko) July 31, 2020
While Klemko said Brown will be suspended beginning when he signs with a team, the 8-game ban will reportedly begin in Week 1 even if Brown remains a free agent.
Antonio Brown’s suspension is effective Sept. 5, whether he’s on a roster or not. It runs through Week 8 of the regular season or his team’s 8th game, if he signs during the suspension.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) July 31, 2020
Several teams have expressed interest in Brown, but the belief has been that no team would sign him until the league announced the severity of his punishment. We will now see if that is truly the case.
Lamar Jackson said this week that he is hoping the Baltimore Ravens sign Brown, and head coach John Harbaugh did not rule it out. Harbaugh referenced the NFL’s investigation and said he did not think Brown was currently available.
Brown has gotten himself into trouble with the law and the NFL for different reasons. He is still awaiting word from the league on a possible suspension following an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct from two different women. Since those allegations came to light, Brown was charged with burglary with battery after he and his trainer, Glenn Holt, allegedly attacked a moving truck driver. Brown recently pleaded no contest to a charge in that incident and avoided jail time.
If all of that weren’t enough to give NFL teams pause, Brown also streamed a live video on Instagram back in January that showed him berating police officers in front of his children.
Brown, 32, spent very brief periods with the Oakland Raiders and New England Patriots last season. The seven-time Pro Bowler should still be capable of playing at an elite level, as he caught 104 passes for 1,297 yards and 15 touchdowns with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2018.
