Antonio Brown’s post-bye playing time plummets

[Captain Fear]

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Yes, Buccaneers receiver Antonio Brown led the team in receiving on Sunday, with five catches. But he was on the field a lot less than he previously had been.

Emerging from the bye week, a time during which the coaching staff presumably made conscious, strategic adjustments to the offensive approach, Brown’s playing time plummeted from nearly 75 percent to below 50.

Against the Chiefs in Week 12, Brown participated in 43 offensive snaps, which equated to 73 percent of the total plays. Against the Vikings, Brown played only 49 percent of the time on offense, taking part in 25 snaps.

He made the most of his chances, catch a pass in one of every five plays. Still, reduced playing time will make it harder to generate the kind of statistics that will result in Brown earning his incentives.

Brown has $750,000 in incentives tied to performance: $250,000 for 45 catches, $250,000 for 650 yards, and $250,000 for six touchdowns.

Brown has 25 catches in five games. He needs 20 over the final three games to make an extra $250,000. He has 217 receiving yards. He needs 433 over the final three games to make another $250,000. He has no touchdowns. He needs six over the final three weeks to make another $250,000.

Brown remains on pace to satisfy a 35-percent playing-time incentive, but the Bucs have to make it to the Super Bowl before that incentive is earned.

As Brown begins to realize that the window is closing on making the extra money, he could become miffed at the fact that his chances to generate more numbers are being restricted. Which could lead to the kind of eruption that could cause the team to have to decide whether to cut the cord on Brown.

One guy who would clearly benefit from that is receiver Scotty Miller. Although he caught a 48-yard touchdown pass to give the Bucs their first real spark of the day, Miller was on the field for only five total snaps during the entire game.