Antonio Brown suddenly has a slim chance to get back in the NFL this season.
The mercurial wide receiver is working out for the New Orleans Saints Friday morning, just two days before their Week 17 game against the Carolina Panthers. Brown, who shared a picture of a Saints free-agent waiver form on his Instagram story, was joined in the session by ex-Redskins wideout Maurice Harris.
According to ESPN, Saints coach Sean Payton is playing it safe heading into the playoffs, using the workout to update his WR list in case of injury. How Brown would factor in on an offense that already features star pass-catcher Michael Thomas and tight end Jared Cook, both favorite targets of QB Drew Brees, would make for an intriguing show, if it even gets that far.
If the Saints — the NFC South champions who are 12-3 and still have a chance to get a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the NFC — sign Brown, there’s no guarantee he would play for them on Sunday or in the postseason. The 31-year-old is the subject of an ongoing NFL investigation into sexual assault allegations made against him by his former trainer Britney Taylor, as well as sexual misconduct allegations made by a second woman.
As NFL Network noted, the NFL has told teams if Brown is signed, he could quickly end up on the commissioner’s exempt list as a result of the investigation.
Brown appeared in one game this season, a Week 2 tilt with the New England Patriots in Miami. They agreed to a deal on Sept. 7 — the same day Brown was released by the Oakland Raiders. Three days later, Brown was accused by Taylor of sexual assault in a civil suit.
He has since been on a dizzying run of social-media posts, which has included saying he’s done with the NFL, only for him to say he wants back in. He’s taken shots at Robert Kraft, to whom he later apologized, and he’s gotten into Twitter spats with current NFL players.
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