Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially release WR Antonio Brown

Jan. 6 (UPI) -- Four days after Antonio Brown removed his equipment and jogged off the field in the middle of Sunday's game against the New York Jets, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers officially released the embattled receiver.

"While Antonio did receive treatment on his ankle and was listed on the injury report the week leading up to last Sunday's game, he was cleared to play by our medical team prior to the start of the game and at no point during the game did he indicate to our medical personnel that he could not play," the team said in a statement Thursday.

"We have attempted, multiple times throughout this week, to schedule an evaluation by an outside orthopedic specialist, yet Antonio has not complied. Maintaining the health and wellness of our players is of the utmost importance to our organization."

Brown and his attorney, Sean Burstyn, said Wednesday that the wideout informed the Buccaneers he was too injured to keep playing on an injured ankle. However, Bucs head coach Bruce Arians declined having any knowledge of the nature of Brown's sideline outburst, nor did he say Brown communicated to him or to the medical staff that his ankle was troubling him.

"At no point during that game did he ever ask the trainer or doctor about his ankle -- that's the normal protocol," Arians told reporters Thursday. "We go through protocols during games. I was never notified of it. Obviously, that was a disturbing thing. We were looking for him to go back into the game."

Arians noted that Brown was upset at halftime of Sunday's matchup against the Jets because he wasn't getting the targets he was expecting. The coach added that Brown had to be calmed down in the locker room.

Brown's attorney told ESPN that the Pro Bowl receiver's ankle injury, not the lack of targets, was the reason for Brown's frustration.

In response to that, Arians chuckled and said: "The players know the truth."

Brown was on the field for 26 plays before exiting Sunday's game against the Jets at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. After becoming upset on the sideline, the veteran wideout removed his jersey, pads and undershirt, and he tossed his shirt and gloves into the stands.

The All-Pro receiver then jogged across the end zone while both teams were on the opposite side of the field and waved to fans as he continued to the locker room.

"We called for the personnel group that he had played in the entire game. He refused to go in the game," Arians said Thursday. "That's when I looked back and saw him basically wave off the coach. I then went back, approached him about what was going on."

Arians then said Brown complained to him about his lack of targets, which prompted the coach to send him off.

"That's when I said, 'You're done, get the 'F' out of here," said Arians, who noted that he pointed to the exits and didn't make a throat slashing gesture, which Brown accused him of doing.

Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht said Thursday that Brown and his agent requested last week that the remaining $2 million in contract incentives for this season be guaranteed for the receiver, according to ESPN. The team declined that request.

Brown, who has missed nine games this season due to injuries and a three-game suspension, needed 28 receptions, 255 receiving yards and three touchdowns to meet the criteria for that $2 million bonus.

In his statement Wednesday, Brown said he was forced to play on the injured ankle that will require surgery, which is why he departed Sunday's game in the third quarter.

The 33-year-old Brown also accused the Buccaneers of mischaracterizing his sideline tirade as a "mental health issue" rather than an unwillingness to play because of significant pain.

Arians said he would never force a player to compete while injured.

"You can't force a player to play," Arians said. "They have that choice. It's their body. He decided to play. He and Mike [Evans] both were on pitch counts. We were trying to manage that as best we could in the first half."

An NFL spokesperson said Brown wouldn't be subject to discipline for his antics during Sunday's game against the Jets.