Antonio Brown is no longer welcome around the Tampa Bay Buccaneers -- head coach Bruce Arians said as much to reporters on Sunday afternoon, while addressing the veteran wide receiver's bizarre, mid-game meltdown along the team's sideline.
Although the Bucs have yet to officially release Brown, the odds of him returning to the field for another team this season aren't favorable. And if Sunday's incident marked the end of Brown's NFL career, his actions will influence Hall of Fame voters, according to a former teammate of Brown.
"I'm kind of slow to judge about what happened. I hate this is going to be painted on him," former Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Ramon Foster told The Zach Gelb Show on Tuesday. "If that's AB's last image -- depending on who's telling the story, how powerful the voice is -- that could be a bad look for AB... I don't know if doing that type of stuff is going to affect how long it takes for him to get into the Hall of Fame.
"People judge with their emotions. And the writers and voters, some, to a T, will kind of hold stuff like that against him. Like, you disrespect the game or you quit. That's going to be the narrative written about Antonio. Despite what he says happened, they're going to say he quit. And for a Hall of Famer to quit on something, I don't know if there's many who've actually done that... That's going to bite him, I think, when it comes down to that conversation."
In 12 NFL seasons, Brown has stirred controversy and created drama with four teams. In early December, the 33-year-old received a three-game suspension by the NFL for violating league safety protocols and obtaining a fake COVID-19 vaccination card. According to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, the reason behind Brown's sideline outburst is that he refused to play in the second half, due to an ankle injury that cost him several games this fall.
Based on statistics, Brown has produced a Hall of Fame career. He's the only receiver in league history with six straight seasons of 100 catches and 1,000 yards, and in 146 total games, he's racked up 12,291 yards (24th all-time) and 83 touchdowns (24th). This season, Brown caught 42 passes for 545 yards with four scores in seven games.
Tampa Bay (12-4), which recently clinched its first NFC South title since 2007, will host the rival Carolina Panthers (5-11) in a regular season finale on Sunday. According to FiveThirtyEight projections, the Bucs have a 9-percent chance to repeat as Super Bowl champions.
The entire NFL conversation between Foster and Gelb can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The Zach Gelb Show on Twitter @ZachGelb and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.