Antonio Brown is set to make his debut for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a spotlight game this weekend against the Bucs’ primary NFC South rivals, the New Orleans Saints.
At 6-2, the Bucs can stretch their divisional lead with a win over the Saints (5-2). More important, losing the game will put them behind the 8-ball in the same race since the Saints already won the first head-to-head matchup in Week 1.
Given the way the Bucs’ passing attack struggled in that game — Brady threw two picks, including a horrific pick six — I suspect the looming specter of this matchup was one of the primary reasons Tampa Bay signed Brown, a superb talent with a Hall of Fame resume who nevertheless has proven to be an immense distraction in his past three NFL stops due to his off-field behavior.