With Antonio Brown retiring multiple times via social media over the last year, the NFL has seemingly been in no hurry to conclude its investigation into the disgruntled wide receiver.
Any idea when the NFL might comment on Brown's status?
“I wouldn’t hold my breath,” CBS Sports NFL insider Jason La Canfora said on The Zach Gelb Show. “If you were holding your breath, you’ve died a million deaths.”
Brown, 32, would like the NFL to wrap up its investigation, but the league has not indicated when that will occur.
“It’s not a front-burner issue,” La Canfora said. “My hat’s off to the NFL and NFLPA for negotiating this return-to-work, health-and-safety and economic platform in the manner that they did, which was very different from baseball. It was much more kept under wraps, it was not abrasive, it wasn’t tearing at the fabric of the game. But that’s the kind of stuff they’re working on.
“They’ve got a lot more going on than Antonio Brown,” La Canfora continued. “They’ve been in no rush to clarify Antonio Brown’s status for quite some time. Some would say that’s because they just keep waiting for him to do things that restart the clock or give them reason to have even more pause.”
That said, La Canfora expects the NFL to comment one way or another about Brown before the season.
“I suspect before Week 1 we get some determination about a suspension, and I do think he’ll be suspended for at least some period of time,” La Canfora said. “In the meantime, I don’t think you’re going to see teams kicking it around with Antonio Brown much. . . . I don’t see anybody bringing him into a training camp environment right now without knowing exactly what his status is going to be like come September.”