New Orleans Saints to get a look at Antonio Brown

Just when it seemed Antonio Brown would not play again this season, the New Orleans Saints are working him out on Friday.

Since being released by the New England Patriots in September, amid the surfacing of some troubling allegations, Antonio Brown seemed unlikely to play again this season. But going into Week 17, ESPN’s Adam Schefter has reported the New Orleans Saints will host Brown for a workout on Friday.

It’s been a turbulent year for Brown, from going scorched earth to force his way out of Pittsburgh, his antics that forced the Oakland Raiders to move on very quickly and then the Patriots letting him go after one game due to the mounting off-field issues.

Any team that signed Brown was going to have to embrace the risk he’d be suspended for a chunk of games. But right now, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk laid out, there’s virtually no risk for any team (the Saints or anyone else) to sign him.

If the Saints do sign Brown, the league would have to place him on the Commissioners’ Exempt list to keep him off the field during the postseason. The idea of paying Brown not to play is now gone, with playoff money coming not from teams but from a league-wide pool from which equal shares are doled out.

On the field, the idea of Brown and Michael Thomas is an enticing idea for the Saints. After Thomas and his now single-season record 145 receptions, and running back Alvin Kamara’s 79 catches, tight end Jared Cook is third on the team with 41 receptions. Ted Ginn’s 29 catches is second-best total from a wide receiver on the team this season, so there’s certainly something left to be desired there.

It’s no better than a coin flip chance Brown suits up for the Saints, or anyone else, in the playoffs this season. But if the league office is trying to drag its feet in determining his status, the Saints have probably forced some movement by having Brown in for a workout.