Tom Brady will be without one of his top targets Sunday as he and the Buccaneers look to remain undefeated when they face the Rams on the road.
Wide receiver Antonio Brown didn't make the trip to Los Angeles after testing positive for COVID-19 during the week.
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Bucs’ WR Antonio Brown did not make the trip to Los Angeles and is out for Sunday’s game vs. the Rams, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 25, 2021
Brown first tested positive Wednesday. His ability to play this weekend hinged on recording two negative tests 24 hours apart. That didn't happen, so he will miss Sunday's game.
Brown, 33, has become a solid secondary receiving option in Tampa behind Chris Godwin and Mike Evans since joining the team last October. He played in both of the team's first two games (one start) this season and had six catches for 138 yards and a touchdown. He totaled 483 yards and four touchdowns in eight games last year with Tampa Bay.
He signed with the Bucs a week before he was reinstated from an eight-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal conduct policy.
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SN's Fantasy Source team projects that tight end Cameron Brate or wide receivers Tyler Johnson and Scotty Miller will most likely be the "next man up" in Brown's absence.
Brate has one catch for 8 yards through the first two games. Johnson has one reception for 5 yards. Miller, Tampa Bay's No. 3 receiver last year, has no catches or targets in 2021 and has played just 20 snaps total, according to Pro Football Reference.
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Brown made his mark in Pittsburgh as one of the league's top receivers, garnering seven Pro Bowl and four All-Pro nods with the Steelers. He led the NFL in receiving yards twice.
Tampa Bay (2-0) enters Sunday leading the NFL with 79 points. A win over the Rams would move it into a first-place tie with the 3-0 Panthers in the NFC South.