AFC Notes: Brown, Brady, Bills, Jets

The Antonio Brown saga continued today with a new dose of drama. The All-Pro receiver liked several tweets referencing past accusations of sexual assault against Ben Roethlisberger, per Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. The team has attempted to calm tempers and dial things back the past couple of weeks, but Brown has only gotten more aggressive in his demands to leave the team.

It had looked for a while recently like a reunion between the two sides was a real possibility, but actions like this are making those chances seem slimmer by the second. Roethlisberger isn’t going anywhere, and an argument between Brown and his longtime quarterback is apparently what sparked all of this back in Week 17. Crazier things have happened, but even though Brown will reportedly meet with Steelers owner Art Rooney soon, it still seems like a trade is inevitable.

Here’s more from around the AFC:

  • Tom Brady has famously taken somewhat of a discount on his contracts to help the Patriots build winning teams around him, and he’s in line for another new contract soon. The 41-year-old plans to keep playing until he’s 45, and is heading into the final year of his current deal in 2019. Former NFL agent and current CBS Sports analyst Joel Corry took a look at what an extension for Brady might look like, and what type of discount he might be willing to take this time around. Corry writes that it’s “extremely unlikely Brady will exploit his leverage” in negotiations, and that it’s only a “matter of how big of a discount he’ll give the Patriots.”
  • Speaking of the AFC East, two of the Patriots’ longtime rivals will be in position to make some major moves this offseason if they want to. The Bills “top the list of expected spenders with what should be close to $89 million to spend on free agents” this offseason, while the Jets are in second place “with about $88 million”, writes cap expert Jason Fitzgerald of Overthecap.com. The Jets and general manager Mike Maccagnan haven’t been shy about their desire to make a splash in free agency, while Buffalo will likely be much more conservative. New York has been frequently mentioned as a potential landing spot for Le’Veon Bell, and it’ll be very interesting to see what they do with all that money.
  • In case you missed it, former Jets offensive coordinator John Morton resurfaced with the Raiders yesterday.
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