Antonio Brown is fully campaigning to be the next Tampa Bay Bucs WR -- saying he's already been texting with Tom Brady ... and praising head coach Bruce Arians.
"He's one of those guys that have befriended me," Brown said about TB12 during a radio hit Friday on The Mike Calta Show ... "One of my close friends around the NFL."
Of course, Tom was a big reason the Patriots signed Brown for the 2019 season -- though he was released after a bunch of horrible off the field issues.