Antonio Brown of Tampa Bay Buccaneers becomes NFL’s fastest player with 900 receptions

TAMPA, Fla – Last week wide receiver Antonio Brown toasted quarterback Tom Brady for breaking the NFL career distance record against the New England Patriots. This week it was Brown’s turn to make history.

With a first quarter catch against the Miami Dolphins on Sunday, Brown passed professional Football Hall of Fame Marvin Harrison to become the fastest NFL player to reach 900 catches. On the first and 10th of the Tampa Bay 25-yard line, Brady found Brown on a slant road for a 10-yard gain for the mark.

At the start of the second quarter, the Buccaneers stadium announcer acknowledged Brown’s achievement. He received hugs on the sidelines from wide receivers coach Kevin Garver, wide receiver Jaydon Mickens and running back Ronald Jones. Other teammates came to congratulate him on the sidelines after Ryan Succop’s 42-yard field goal.

On Brown’s next catch, Brady found him below for a 62-yard catch and ran down a crossroad for a touchdown – the Buccaneers’ longest touchdown of the season in five games. On the game, Brown hit 20.95 mph, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.

Brown, 33, added a second touchdown shortly before halftime.

The Buccaneers received a heavy blow when longtime inside linebacker and longtime team captain Lavonte David was curled up by teammate Ndamukong Suh while bombarding quarterback Jacoby Brissett. David’s ankle was stuck under Suh, and he was ruled out for the remainder of the game and taken to the locker room for x-rays, which were negative, according to a source.

Heading into Sunday’s game against his hometown team, Brown, now in his 12th season and second with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, only needed one catch to reach the 900 mark in his 143rd career game. Harrison, who spent 13 seasons in the NFL – all with the Indianapolis Colts – has done so in 149 games.

Brown likely would have reached the milestone sooner without an eight-game suspension in 2020 due to burglary and battery charges resulting from an incident with a moving truck driver in January 2020. But in Tampa, he reunited with Brady , worked to get his life back on track and found a career resurgence.