ProFootballDoc: Antonio Brown's Latest 'Crazy' Statement is Not Crazy

Antonio Brown has done and said a lot of crazy things from walking off the field, criticizing his friend Tom Brady, accusing Bruce Arians of trying to hurt him and freezing the soles of his feet (plus a host of other off-field issues), but his latest statement of not having ankle surgery unless a team signs him seems crazy at face value, but actually is not.

It certainly seems nuts for AB to break his own NFL injury news while shirtless on TMZ, but what he says actually makes sense, even if one doesn't agree with his conclusion.

It can be true both that he was playing injured and needs ankle surgery, yet doesn't want to have the procedure unless a team signs him. We talked previously that his MRI proved surgery was necessary to play football. However, if he is not playing anymore, Brown doesn't actually have to have the surgery.

As a NFL head team physician, I have advised a player have surgery if he wants to continue to play but if he wishes to stop, sometimes the procedure is not necessary. This seems to be the case for AB.

His past would lead most to think "here he goes again" but the substance of what he is saying actually is logical. However, I don't agree with his approach. If there was any desire to play in the NFL, he should get his ankle fixed now. It would be paid for by the Buccaneers by rule and he could be ready to roll as soon as another team reached out. A team is more likely to reach out if AB is ready to go. Let's say there is a training camp injury, it would be too late to add Brown if he still needed surgery.

If he wants to play, he should have the ankle surgery, If he is not going to play football, Brown is right that he can skip the procedure. That would be the sane thing to do.