Earlier this week, the NFL hit Antonio Brown, Mike Edwards, and free agent defensive back John Franklin III with three-game bans for violating COVID-19 protocols. Initially, however, the league was considering six-to-eight game suspensions for those players (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero). 
[RELATED: NFL Suspends Antonio Brown, Mike Edwards]
An eight-game ban would have trickled into the playoffs for Brown and Edwards. Thanks to NFLPA negotiations, both players will have a chance to return in a few weeks. According to Bucs head coach Bruce Arians, it’s not a given that Brown will be activated straight away, and Pelissero hears that’s legitimate. The team first wants to ensure that Brown is focused on football and adhering to the league’s rules. Beyond that, there’s also a non-trivial chance that the players could be facing legal entanglements, since falsifying vaccination cards is a federal crime.
Brown, 33, has been productive on the field, but he’s missed time thanks to a lingering ankle injury and time on the COVID list. Before the suspension, Brown was on pace for another 1,000-yard season with 29 grabs for 418 yards and two touchdowns in five games. Now, he’ll finish shy of that mark for a third straight year.
If the Bucs welcome Brown back immediately after the suspension, he’ll retake the field on Dec. 26th against the Panthers.
How is it that Aaron got nothing but these 2 have to sit? Aaron lied his butt off, & broke the same protocols.
How do you mull a 6-8 game and end up at 3? Negotiating with the NFLPA? So they both decided player safety once again isn’t as much an issue as they make it. They have set a precedent that you can lie and violate the law to avoid nfl standards and get a 3 game suspension. Disturbing
Suspensions are just a money grab. Goodell uses a dart board to determine who the culprits are each week.
Some of the stuff missed and some of the stuff fined is atrocious. It’s not like they don’t have every video angle in NY to make the right calls….
The problem isn’t the ability to fine, it’s an image problem if they started handing out fines on every play that actually deserve one. The networks have done a great job of not showing to many replays of blown calls. NFL worried about image not safety
Goodell generally looks like a clown when he attempts to prop up the NFLs image. Frank Gore got fined for wearing socks too low in a playoff game because that apparently damaged the image…lol.
That Gore tidbit proves my point about Rodgers’ “punishment”.
well they probably mulled lower ones too but that’s not a revelation given he got 3
Remember Ray Rice got 2 games for beating his wife. This is on par with the nfl. They ultimately don’t care in the end. All they care about is $$$
There is no safety issue with the jabs. Jabbed people contract and spread Covid-19 just as easily as non-jabbed people. There may be some lightening of symptoms in high risk people, thanks to the jab. Jabbed and non-jabbed people spread Covid-19 equally easily. Jabbed people, as they have been misled into believing that they are immune to Covid-19, are probably higher risk.
Faking vaccination costs money and is a federal crime.
The vaccine is free and makes you somewhere between 11 and 40 times less likely to die.
AB is brain damaged so…it stands to reason he would choose the former over the latter.
Moron
Have some evidence for those figures among young healthy athletes? Those figures sound like the figures for either a nursing home or the morbidly obese. There are many athletes suffering serious heart issues, even death, due to the jab. More soccer players (they run harder and longer than American football players), it’s true.
Those figures can’t be proven. It’s FAR to early. How about we check them in 5 years….. AND tell me why the drug companies don’t want their ‘papers’ on this drug released for 55 years…..that’s what they’re asking for now.
Before Dec. 25: “We will ensure that AB has his head in the game and understands he needs to be a positive, upstanding citizen and representative of our team.”
Dec. 25: “So what do you think? Is AB going to behave?” “Who freakin’ cares! He can catch a football.”
Dec. 26: “After many sincere discussions with AB, we’ve decided to activate him for today’s game.”
The nfl is run by hypocrites. Rogers lied and got a slap on the wrist. No, he didn’t break the law but he did violate the protocols and put other people at risk. That deserves more than 1 game suspension.
If the league needs you for revenue you are given a pass, otherwise…
Agreed.
arty! and forwhomthejoshbelltolled, you’re both right on! \m/
He won’t be needed for the Panthers. They self inflict enough damage to themselves on their own. As for Brown – league suspension 3 – games from NFL – one or two games from Bucs. I’d rather see Brown on the field helping his team win another SB but he needs to be taught a lesson. This will all depend on injuries etc… But you can’t hamper the teams effort to win another SB. That’s inflicting team damage twice due to Browns stupidity. Let’s hope that his salary freezes or has subtraction clauses due to suspension!
So tell me people getting the ‘vaccine’ are still getting covid so why bother? Tell you why…. someone is making the drug company BILLIONS of dollars selling ‘snake oil’. As for AB I don’t get the NFL……different rules for different people…. all. the. time.