Antonio Brown may be remembered by most as a Pittsburgh Steeler, but many forget that he was actually a New England Patriot at one point. It was back in 2019. Immediately after Brown's release from the Oakland Raiders, he signed with the Patriots. The wideout would only play one game, however, due to off-field issues. In a recent interview with Jason Whitlock, Brown opened up on what he perceives was the reason why his tenure in New England ended immediately.

“AB played the Patriots game in 2019, one game,” Brown said, referring to himself from a third person point of view. “Who led the team? I just got there (during) Week 2.”

“Yeah you did, I remember,” Whitlock replied. “You had a good game.”

“AB led the team right?” Brown continued. “Then the next week, I figured everything out. The NFL don't want me to win with Tom Brady, especially not on the Patriots. You know why? I'm a Steeler.”

It can be noted that Brown was facing sexual assault allegations at that time, which was the reported reason why he was let go from New England.

Antonio Brown's wild theory

For more context on his theory, Brown spent nine years with the Steelers before moving on to short stints with the Raiders and the Patriots, respectively.

Going back to the interview, Brown then claimed that the NFL didn't want him to leave the Steelers, hinting that his release from the Patriots was part of a conspiracy against him since the league was supposedly against his departure from Pittsburgh. He also alleged that the league is not in favor of players “doing their own thing”.

“That's what the NFL do when you're doing your own thing,” Brown said, about his New England release. “I was able to get myself out the deal with the Steelers…so I was able to make smart decisions for myself. The NFL is not a business where players can actually make moves for themselves. I was fortunate that I was able to put myself in some good positions in regards of my career.”

“Hold on for a second,” Whitlock then asked. “You think the NFL did not want you to leave Pittsburgh, and that you created a situation where you can get out and then you got a better deal from Oakland and money from New England?”

“Yes I did,” Brown responded. See the full conversation below.

So yup, that would be Antonio Brown's perspective on the entire situation back then. Still, the wideout did get to play with Tom Brady as a member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, even winning a Super Bowl with the quarterback to conclude the 202-21 season. There seemed to be no conspiracy going on at that time, as his career ended due to his shirtless departure from an ongoing game in 2021.