Antonio Brown Unloads on Zay Flowers in a Rant That Came Out of Nowhere

Antonio Brown did what Antonio Brown does. He went on a rant about Ravens wide receiver Zay Flowers and it got ugly fast.

The former All-Pro called Flowers a fumbler who “can’t hold water” and said he “sucks.” Brown even went as far as blaming Flowers for Lamar Jackson not winning more. “If you say Zay Flowers with my name, you’re a loser,” Brown said in a video that spread quickly online. “Zay Flowers fumbles too much. He can’t hold water. He sucks. He’s not me, and I’m being honest. Zay Flowers is the reason Lamar Jackson can’t win.”

This wasn’t a response to anything Flowers said. It seemed to come from nowhere. Brown just decided to unload on a guy who has quietly been one of the NFL’s better young receivers.

Flowers Has Been Good, Actually

Flowers has 237 catches for 3,128 yards and 14 touchdowns through three seasons. He became the fastest Ravens player ever to hit 3,000 receiving yards. That’s not nothing. The guy is a legit number one option in Baltimore’s offense.

Brown’s numbers were obviously better at his peak. He’s 28th all time in receiving yards with 12,291. But he also spent most of his prime catching passes from Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady. Context matters.

DeAndre Hopkins Defended Flowers

DeAndre Hopkins, who played in Baltimore last season, jumped in to defend Flowers in a now-deleted post. “U goofy talking ab Zay, bro used to look up to you,” Hopkins wrote. That tracks. Flowers grew up watching Brown. A lot of young receivers did.

Jackson has also backed his guy publicly. He talks about Flowers the way quarterbacks talk about receivers they trust. None of this drama seems to come from the Ravens locker room. It’s just Brown doing his thing on social media.

The Ravens need to bounce back this year after finishing below .500. They haven’t been able to get over the hump and into a Super Bowl with this group. But Flowers has been one of the bright spots. He’s not the problem.

Brown clearly still sees himself as the standard. And maybe he was. But it’s been a long time since he was that guy on the field. Now he’s just the guy ranting about someone half his age who’s actually playing.