One of Antonio Brown’s former teammates is issuing a warning to the Buccaneers about his antics.
Retired Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier didn’t hold back when speaking to “The Ringer NFL Show” podcast about Brown, with whom he overlapped in Pittsburgh for four seasons.
“The biggest thing for me on Antonio is he’s all for attention,” he said on Thursday. “He’s super about attention, man — on the field, off the field.”
Shazier, 28, suffered a devastating spinal injury on Dec. 4, 2017, against the Bengals that effectively ended his career.
During his time with the Steelers, he had a locker adjacent to Brown, whom he recently described as a “wishy-washy friend” to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
“I don’t know if he’s bipolar and all that stuff, but like, one day me and him would be cool. Then, if you don’t say something he wants to hear, then he’s mad at you,” Shazier said. “Like, bro, I don’t have time to suck up to you and be your best friend. You don’t want to hear what I’ve got to say? I’m trying to tell you for your advice from my past experience, you know what I’m saying? And I just hope he doesn’t do that over there.”
Brown was a member of the Steelers from 2010 to 2019. Shazier has since been blocked on all social media channels by the troubled receiver.
“I was like, ‘Man, I wish the best for AB, but whoever’s going to help the team, I want him here. If you don’t want to be here, best of luck to your endeavors,’” he said. “And a few weeks later, I got blocked on Twitter. I got blocked on Instagram. Like, bro, I wished you good luck. I’m not showing no beef, not throwing no shade on you, but if you want friends who are going to tell you what you want to hear, that’s not me.”
Brown, 32, made his debut for the Buccaneers — his fourth team in under two years — on Sunday night against the Saints. He reeled in three of five targets for 31 yards behind Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Leonard Fournette, all of whom saw six targets.
It was Brown’s first appearance since Sept. 15, 2019, as a member of the Patriots after a drama-filled year. He was accused of sexual harassment and rape, which prompted his release from New England, and was embroiled in multiple altercations and legal scandals. He signed a “no risk,” one-year deal with the Buccaneers in late October.