How desperate are the Ravens or Seahawks to win a Super Bowl, enough to sign Antonio Brown and derail their hopes? Not impossible to see Brown playing against Steelers this year

MVP Lamar Jackson should distance himself from the Browns

Photo: Baltimore Ravens

… is it worth completely disrupting their season?

The National Football League did a strange thing on Friday. It suspended troubled wide receiver Antonio Brown for eight games — which is not surprising — but the fact that they did anything with him with all of the legal issues not completely resolved was interesting. 

After those eight games, any NFL team could sign him, and that, on paper, would seem to be a no-brainer. After all, here was a sixth-round draft pick who exceeded everyone’s expectations, catching 837 passes in nine years with the Steelers for 11,207 yards and 74 touchdowns. 

Brown was the premiere receiver in the league for about six years, but he became a terrible distraction off the field and now has legal and ethical issues to deal with that are problematic. 

He was suspended for violating the NFL clause that requires the player’s personal conduct to be up to a standard that is not the highest, but is at least respectable. 

And after his infamous deal in being traded from the Steelers to the Raiders last year and then bolting to the Patriots and then bolting out of the league, his future may be shaky. 

Would the Ravens take such a chance?

The two teams whose star quarterbacks have encouraged management to consider signing Brown are the Baltimore Ravens and the Seattle /Seahawks. Both are legitimate Super Bowl contenders, and each has an outstanding quarterback. 

The Ravens QB is the reigning MVP of the league, Lamar Jackson, who is still receiving heat because despite his tremendous play the last two seasons, the team has yet to win one playoff game, much less compete for a Super Bowl. 

Jackson worked out with Brown in the offseason and has been outspoken in advocating that the Ravens sign Brown. 

Does the suspension save the “Ravens from themselves”?

Sports Illustrated writer Pete Smith wrote about the issue of the Ravens and Brown after the suspension was announced,

The NFL, seemingly out of nowhere, announced free agent wide receiver Antonio Brown, who may or may not be retired, will be suspended eight games under the personal conduct policy, beginning Week 1 of the season.

The timing of this move is peculiar, except that Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson keeps advocating for his team to sign the troubled wide receiver. The cousin of one of his favorite receivers, Marquise Brown, Antonio has worked out with the two, which is where this all started.

Pete Smith, “NFL's Antonio Brown Suspension Saves Lamar Jackson, 

Ravens From Themselves,” Sports Illustrated, July 31, 2020

The timing is indeed peculiar, and why they decided to do this at all is strange. Could be advice from their lawyers, but who knows at this stage?

NFL wants Jackson to drop the A.B. idea

Two young quarterbacks in the league are now considered the face of the NFL. The major one is Patrick Mahomes, the QB of the now reigning Super Bowl Champ Kansas City Chiefs, and the other is Jackson. 

Jackson, however, has a clean slate, and the NFL would prefer that he not embrace the morally nefarious Brown,

The NFL views the reigning MVP potentially as a face for the league. Jackson is extremely popular between his style of play and the polarization around him as so many doubted him coming into the league and his ability to transition to more of an NFL style offense.

Almost protecting Jackson from himself, the NFL would really like one of its biggest stars to stop talking about signing a receiver who is accused of sexual misconduct by two different women. It's an awful look for a league that has a huge problem when it comes to how women are treated. The Baltimore Ravens are a team that has dealt with high-profile cases involving violence against women, notably including Ray Rice.

One would think that would make this a layup for the Ravens, but to this point, they have refused and the league has gotten them off the hook.

The Ravens and any other team could sign Brown and he would be eligible for Week 9 of the season. Beyond his issues off the field, he has been a major source of frustration for teams when he's in the building.

Pete Smith, Sports Illustrated, July 31, 2020

Some of the Ravens' publications agree with Smith that Brown is not good for the Ravens because he has been such a divisive figure.

However, Jackson believes that the Ravens’ players can help contain Brown once he is on their sideline,

Whether you’re for or against a potential signing, there’s little doubt Brown is one of the most talented wide receivers to ever play the game. But the mercurial wide receiver comes with a hefty amount of baggage, ranging from legal woes to a troublesome pitstop with the then-Oakland Raiders after forcing a trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers prior to the 2019 season. Jackson, however, contends Baltimore’s strong leadership could be enough to keep Brown in line and out of the headlines.

“I feel like the locker room here is different than any other locker room,” Jackson continued. “It’s a brotherhood going on. There’s none of that outside noise, it’s strictly inside. We worry about each other, we worry about what we have going on, we want to win, and I can tell — in him — he wants to win; he wants to play ball.”

Matthew Stevens, “Lamar Jackson still hoping Ravens sign 

WR Antonio Brown,” Ravens Wire, July 30, 2020

Steelers tried to pacify Brown, but …

The numbers that Brown racked up with the Steelers were tremendous, but with him and divisive running back Le’Veon Bell, two very talented athletes, they really came close to a Super Bowl despite having a QB who has thrown for more than 50,000 yards. 

It was a tricky proposition handling Brown over the last few years with the team, and Coach Mike Tomlin did not do a great job in that area,

The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to hide a lot of issues for several years that only exploded when he was finally traded to the now Las Vegas Raiders, because it leaked onto social media when Brown started taking shots at teammates including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

It's never been a question of talent with Brown, who was on a Hall of Fame track when he was playing. And that would help the Ravens. The dysfunctional personality has always limited what he can offer and perhaps was a reason the Steelers only won one Super Bowl, despite the overwhelming amount of talent they had for several years running.

Pete Smith, SI, July 31, 2020

That one Super Bowl won by Tomlin was before A.B.’s time, but the point is accurate. The Steelers had great talent and went nowhere with it. 

That might be a good reason for the Ravens, and the Seahawks, to beg off signing Brown. 

However, stranger things have happened in the NFL.