Page 20 - Florida Sentinel 1-7-22

Sports
How Antonio Brown Breakup Impacts Tom Brady, Bucs' Super Bowl Repeat Chances
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Houston We Have A Prob- lem!
The Tampa Bay Bucca- neers got as much out of wide receiver Antonio Brown as they could in less than two full seasons. He turned in a great half-season in 2020 and was a big help to making sure the Bucs won the Super Bowl. This year his refusal to come back into Sunday's Week 17 game against the Jets and subsequent immediate re- lease, his time with Tampa Bay has come to an end short of a second playoff run.
Brown was looking good on the field when healthy, but from his ankle injury to his vaccination card-related sus- pension to his final topless in- game meltdown, his stay with the Bucs went from steady to tumultuous in one year. Brown needed about 15 catches to receive a $1.5 mil- lion bonus from the Bucs. Why Coach Bruce Arians benching his star receiver when he needed to play for the bonus will be a mystery. All in all this will hurt the Bucs in the playoffs.
Although Coach Arians finally had enough of
ANTONIO BROWN
Brown's antics on Sunday, the bottom line is cutting off ties with Brown comes at an inopportune time.
The Buccaneers have lost wide receiver Chris Godwin (knee) for the season. Wide receiver Mike Evans (ham- string) is playing hurt. Run- ning back Leonard Fournette (hamstring), who's also developed into a key target for Brady, may be back for the playoffs, but for now is on injured reserve.
Here's what the breakup means for Tampa Bay's quest for a second consecutive Super Bowl win with Brady:
Buccaneers need to get as healthy as possible on defense in a hurry.
The Buccaneers, even with Brady and their explosive of-
fense, ultimately won Super Bowl 55 because of what they did defensively vs. Washing- ton, New Orleans, Green Bay and Kansas City in consecu- tive games. This season, they've been stout up front with Ndamukong Suh and Vita Vea, but the injury bug has bitten other levels of their defense hard.
While outside edge rushers Shaquil Barrett (knee) and Jason Pierre-Paul (knee) were ruled out for Week 17, in- side leader Lavonte David (foot) is on injured reserve.
Like Fournette, David could return to help in the playoffs, and Barrett and JPP are, too.
Between now and the wild- card home game in two weeks, the goal is to have all the regu- lar starters together again. There's a fair chance of that happening.
The Bucs will lose some of- fensive juice without the volatile Brown, magnified without the reliable Godwin, so the defense must be better at taking over games. Hope- fully, no Brown also may end up being a rallying bonus for the locker room.
Clinton Portis Seeks To Avoid Prison Time For Fraud; Prosecutors Seek 10-16 Months
Nearly four months after pleading guilty to his role in a nationwide scheme to defraud the NFL's healthcare benefit program for league veterans, former All-Pro running back Clinton Portis is seeking no jail time ahead of his Jan. 6 sentencing hearing.
Federal prosecutors, meanwhile, are recommend- ing a high-end sentencing -- between 10 and 16 months of prison time -- as well as a fine for Portis' involvement in the fraud case. That's according to
CLINTON PORTIS
U.S. District Court filings ob- tained by CBS Sports.
Portis, 40, best known as a repeat Pro Bowler for the Washington Football Team
from 2004-2010, wrongfully obtained nearly $100,000 as part of a crime ring that sought more than $2.8 million through false reimbursement claims.
Former NFL linebacker Robert McCune allegedly orchestrated the scheme, which targeted a reimburse- ment account established to help retired players cover medical expenses, but Portis admitted in August that he made two separate false and fraudulent claims as part of the operation.
Portis' counsel filed a sentencing memorandum Dec. 30 to request a sentence of "time served" in lieu of in- carceration, meaning he would face zero jail time after Thursday's sentencing. Other defendants, including fellow NFL alumni Antwan Odom, Carlos Rogers and Joe Horn, avoided incarceration despite similar conduct in the scheme, Portis' filing states.
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