Antonio Brown worked out with Russell Wilson last week, leading many to speculate that the Seattle Seahawks might sign the mercurial wide receiver.
Given Brown's past, though, would that be a wise move?
“I wouldn’t mind seeing him here,” former Seahawks Pro Bowler Cliff Avril said on The Zach Gelb Show. “A lot of people here in Seattle are like, ‘I don’t know. It comes with a lot of baggage.’ But if people remember throughout 2010 to 2018, we probably had the most vocal, controversial team in NFL history. You’re talking about a wide range of personalities, a wide range of guys doing their own thing. But on Sundays, guess what? We won ball games. A coach that knows how to manage that is Coach Carroll. So getting AB and his talents can help this team, but if you’re worried about the baggage, I think Coach Carroll, Russell Wilson, Bobby Wagner can manage that situation and make him a great player, make him go out and do what he needs to do and not necessarily tarnish or mess up the locker room as most people think.”
Brown, a four-time first-team All-Pro, was once the best wide receiver in the NFL. He has led the league in receptions (twice), receiving yards (twice) and receiving touchdowns, as he and Ben Roethlisberger formed one of the most productive quarterback-receiver combos in the league.
Brown has had numerous issues on and off the field in recent years, but Avril believes the soon-to-be 32-year-old could still help a team win games.
“I think that’s all most coaches care about,” Avril said. “With AB, with the talent that he has, you’re going to probably get him for cheap; you might as well kick a tire on him and see what he presents on the team. Leadership plays a big role in this. Leadership plays a huge role in being able to manage personalities, and I think they do have those guys that can do that.”
Avril, who helped the Seahawks to a win in Super Bowl XLVIII, believes Brown would make Seattle the favorite in the NFC West.
“I would say [signing Brown would give] them a little bit of an [edge over] the 49ers,” Avril said. “The [49ers] defense is pretty solid, and then obviously on offense they have a running game and they try to make things happen with Jimmy G. But with the Seattle Seahawks, if they were to sign AB, I would definitely give them a bit of an advantage. I would pick Russ over Jimmy G any day of the week. No knock on Jimmy; I just like Russell, and I know what Russell can do. But then you add somebody like AB, you talk about [Tyler] Lockett, you talk about D.K. Metcalf, that’s [impressive]. Then you talk about the backfield as well with [Chris] Carson and some of those guys – that offense can be pretty dangerous if you add him to the mix of things.”