Antonio Brown: Bruce Arians Didn’t Think I Was Smart Enough to Play ‘X’ Receiver

To hear Antonio Brown tell it, the issues between him and Bruce Arians date back to when they were both with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Brown discussed his time in Pittsburgh during an appearance on The Pivot Podcast with Ryan Clark, Channing Crowder and Fred Taylor (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk) and said the current Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach did not think he was smart enough to play the “X” wide receiver spot.

“[Clark] and I know how Arians used to treat me,” Brown said. “You and I know that Bruce Arians said that A.B. isn’t smart enough to play the ‘X’ position. You and I know that Ben Roethlisberger had to say enough is enough and tell Bruce Arians that we have to play this guy. The public doesn’t know that.”

Arians was the offensive coordinator of the Steelers from 2007 through 2011, and Brown was a wide receiver on the team for the final two years of that span.

Brown also discussed infamously leaving the field during the 2021 campaign when the Buccaneers were playing the New York Jets:

“Bruce Arians has to respect me as a player. I’m in the middle of a game, how you gonna tell me get the ‘F’ out of here? You know how it is in a game with testosterone and how you act on game day. You probably would have slapped him. If I can’t play, I can’t play. It’s a deltoid ligament. … I have to have surgery in the next couple weeks. … I know I make football look easy and I know I could run 17 or 18 miles per hour, which is not normal with a hurt ankle, but I can’t do that over the course of a year. I’ll kill myself. I don’t have no mental health problem. I’m just about respect. I stand on principle.”

Brown has discussed potentially taking legal action against the Buccaneers after he said Arians tried to continue playing him in that Jets game despite an injury.