Mark Madden's Hot Take: Antonio Brown hasn't changed but signing makes sense for Tampa Bay

Antonio Brown didn’t con the entire NFL. But he conned a few of its top quarterbacks.

Brown “befriended” Tom Brady when the two played together briefly in New England. He “befriended” Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson during informal offseason workouts. He “befriended” Russell Wilson, causing Seattle’s QB to utter nonsense like “he’s shown remorse.”

Really? When was that? I don’t recall that, and certainly not on any level approaching sincere.

Brown’s butt-kissing goodwill tour of the NFL’s high-profile signal-callers paid off when Brady reportedly got him a contract with Tampa Bay, thus emasculating coach Bruce Arians — who previously said, “It’s not going to happen. (Brown isn’t) a fit in our locker room” — and proving who’s really in charge of the Buccaneers. Not that we didn’t know already.

Brown is a user. We knew that, too.

So, mission accomplished for Brown. The minute he gets in that Bucs huddle, he will want the ball every play. His “friendship” with Brady will quickly take a back seat to ego and greed.

You don’t think he’d do that to Brady? He certainly did it to Ben Roethlisberger. Brady’s rep means zilch to Brown.

How does Arians feel about being overruled by Brady?

How do incumbent wide receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Scott Miller feel? Their roles will shrink dramatically. Brown will doubtless be Brady’s No. 1 target before long.

Brady berated his offensive-platoon teammates Oct. 8 at Chicago when they committed five penalties on a 10-play drive during a one-point loss. Will Brady yell at Brown when he freelances a route? What happens when Brown yells back?

Signing Brown is actually understandable. Its 4-2 record and last Sunday’s pasting of Green Bay notwithstanding, Tampa Bay has mostly shown it’s not good enough to win a Super Bowl. If Brown doesn’t make the team implode, the Bucs are better. It’s worth the risk.

Brady marks believe their hero will have the situation under control.

Perhaps he will. But it’s far from guaranteed. Their brief time together in New England duly noted, Brady has never had to deal with a jerk quite like Brown.

Brown hasn’t changed. He kept quiet just long enough to get a job. But it won’t be long until the real Brown shows up.