Antonio Brown‘s NFL legacy is quite baffling. With 928 catches for 12,291 yards and 88 touchdowns, he is one of the best WRs of our generation. But unfortunately, thanks to his social media antics and controversies, he barely gets his flowers for his playing career. But not everyone forgets the former Steelers WR’s greatness, at least not his former teammate Derek Carr. Hence, when Carr praised Brown publicly, the former WR broke his social media persona to express his gratitude.
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Speaking on Pardon My Take, the former Saints QB called Brown the “hardest practicing player” he has ever seen. Not only did Carr appreciate the impressive numbers his former teammate has racked up over the past 12 seasons, but he also expressed a desire to see Brown included in the Hall of Fame.
“He’s the hardest practicing player I’ve ever seen in my life. He practices hard. He competes at just a different level. Hopefully he’s a Hall of Famer. His numbers are insane.”
Brown seemed to be touched by Carr’s words of praise, and for a change, posted something on “X” that was not a troll or a diss directed at someone. “Respect King,” reacted Brown to Carr’s words.
It’s rare to see an NFL athlete interact positively with Antonio Brown these days, so it was heartening to see Carr not hold back in his praise for Brown.
While AB84’s newfound audience might be a bit surprised at the WR being called an all-time NFL player by Carr, real ones know that Brown’s work ethic has always been off the charts.
Throwback to When Bill Belichick Praised AB for His Work Ethics
As controversies started consuming his career, many teams distanced themselves from Brown, despite his quality on the field. However, it was Bill Belichick’s Patriots who took a punt on the WR despite the surrounding noise.
Unfortunately for them, the move didn’t pan out, as Brown was cut off after just one game when it came to light that Brown had allegedly withheld information about a sexual assault and rape litigation against him.
But in his short stint with the Patriots, Brown was a proper professional and put in extra effort in training with the offensive coordinators and Tom Brady to get up to speed as a starter. HC Bill Belichick was pleasantly surprised by Brown’s diligent efforts and praised him publicly for it.
“We’ll just have to take it day-by-day here and see how it goes. He’s worked hard. He’s worked extremely diligently with Joe Judge, Troy Brown, Josh McDaniels, Tom (Brady) to get caught up. He’s not there yet, but we’re a lot closer than we were last Monday or Tuesday, so we’re making progress…”
His Patriots stint, in hindsight, best sums up his career — an exceptionally brilliant talent hurt by his own misconduct. While it hurts to see Brown’s career fall into grace, it is also worth remembering that most of it is his own doing. Luckily for Brown, he lives with no regrets, so it’s better fans do the same.
