Antonio Brown ruled out of crucial NFC championship game vs Packers after knee injury

In a telling blow to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Antonio Brown has been ruled out of Sunday's NFC CHampionship game against the Green Bay Packers due to injury. The 32-year-old was one of the latest additions to the side following the arrival of Tom Brady, who struck a bond with the wide-receiver in their short time together at the New England Patriots. Brown has experience of playing in the Super Bowl, something which only a few players have on this roster outside of Tom Brady. Here's the Antonio Brown injury update: 

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Bucs vs Packers: Antonio Brown ruled out with knee injury, set to miss championship game 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians on Friday confirmed that wide receiver Antonio Brown has been officially ruled for the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers. Arians had earlier said that the 32-year-old's availability would be a game-time decision, but apparently Brown isn’t making the kind of progress that would allow him to be ready to go by Sunday.  The former Pittsburgh Steelers star suffered a knee injury in the divisional playoff game at the New Orleans Saints and played only 27 snaps. He did not practice this week. 

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Speaking of Antonio Brown's injury, Tom Brady said, "It obviously sucks for Antonio. We wish he could be out there with us". However, the veteran quarterback hopes that others can step up in his absence and deliver the goods for the Bucs. Brown had been in fine form before his unfortunate injury and led the Buccaneers in receiving targets the final five weeks of the regular season and had a 36-yard touchdown catch in their wild-card win over Washington Football Team. An MRI on Brown's knee did not reveal significant structural damage this week, offering optimism he might be able to play on Sunday, but Arians pulled the plug with his team news on Friday. 

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Bruce Arians said that he believes Scotty Miller and rookie Tyler Johnson will be able to step up in Brown's absence. Johnson made a key third-down catch for 15 yards against the Saints. While Miller had just one catch for 29 yards against New Orleans, he has been on the receiving end of some of Tom Brady's best deep pass plays this season,  33-yard touchdown grab against the Las Vegas Raiders and a 48-yard touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings. Mike Evans, Chris Godwin are also options to consider, along with tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Cameron Brate. 

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(Image Courtesy: nfl.com)