Brown: Brady's my friend because 'he needs me to play football'
Antonio Brown is continuing his war of words with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers following his dramatic and controversial exit from the club.
During a Friday appearance on the "Full Send Podcast," the wideout spoke about his relationship with Tom Brady and why he believed the quarterback championed his move to the Bucs last season, despite head coach Bruce Arians' initial reluctance.
"Tom is actually my friend, one of my close friends. ... Some people have a different definition of friend," said Brown. "Because when I say to you I'm your friend, that means I got your back ... but a friend is not like that in this world and how we living.
“We play professional sports - like, not everybody in a sport's gonna be your friend. Tom Brady's my friend why? Because I'm a good football player. He needs me to play football, right? These guys call me to win the Super Bowl, not for the toilet bowl."
But Brown expressed disappointment that Brady didn't use his influence to get him a better contract after the receiver helped Tampa Bay win the Lombardi Trophy.
"If Tom Brady's my boy, why am I playing for an earning salary?" he said. “You're my boy, though, right? (Rob) Gronkowski is his boy, right? How much does he get paid? So why is AB on a prove-it deal? Who's better than me over there?"
Brown walked off midgame in the Jan. 2 win over the New York Jets and was subsequently released Thursday.
He leveled further criticism at Arians after previously accusing the coach and the Buccaneers of pressuring him to play through an ankle injury and framing his walk-off as a mental health issue.
"This is your team, these are the guys that you flew here with to do a mission," said Brown. "They knew about my (injury) situation before we even came. I communicated with the coaches, the trainers, everyone knows. And to get there and be battling them, and the guy tell you because you can't go to war with them, 'Get the f--- out of here'? What do you want me to do? ...
"If you discriminate on my public image and my name, at that point it's f--- you too, professionally."
Arians said Thursday that while Brown had an ankle issue in the lead-up to Week 17, the pass-catcher didn't inform team medical staff before or during the game that the injury was bothering him.
The head coach added that teammates had to calm Brown down at halftime after the receiver said he'd no longer play because he wasn't getting the ball.
"That's when I said, 'You're done, get the F out of here,' and that's the end of it," Arians said.
The wideout was close to earning three separate incentives of $333,333 apiece.
"I didn't quit. I was cut," Brown said in a Wednesday statement. "I didn't walk away from my brothers. I was thrown out."