HEADLINES

Steelers Unlikely To Get First-Round Pick For Antonio Brown?

February 12th, 2019 at 7:02pm CST by Rory Parks

Steelers star wideout Antonio Brown tweeted a farewell to Pittsburgh fans today, which once again worked the football world into a frenzy. Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, though, says that outside of the tweet, there have been no major developments in this saga (video link). Indeed, a report earlier this month indicated that Brown had reiterated his prior trade demand, and the substance of that report remains valid. Brown’s camp has not gone back to the Steelers to yet again reaffirm his desire for a fresh start, and the Steelers have still not given Brown and his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, permission to seek a trade on their own.

But Brown’s goodbye certainly seems to suggest that there is no going back now, and that Pittsburgh will end up trading him and giving him the fresh start he is seeking (although Rapoport is clear that the Steelers continue to hold all the cards and do not have to cede to Brown’s demands). But assuming the Steelers do end up moving him, what can they expect in return?

The team understandably wants to net at least a first-round draft pick in any Brown trade, but in a separate interview, Rapoport suggests that a second-round pick may be more plausible (video link). After all, the acquiring team would probably need to give Brown a new contract, which will surely be an expensive proposition, and his alleged involvement in a domestic dispute — not to mention the fact that he does not look like a positive clubhouse presence at the moment — could impact the Steelers’ return.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, who describes Brown’s deteriorating relationship with the Steelers in excellent detail, also said Pittsburgh may have to settle for a second- or third-round selection (or even a fourth-rounder, depending on the results of the league’s investigation into the domestic dispute).

Veteran NFL reporter Ed Werder believes the Steelers — assuming they have comparable offers from multiple clubs on the table — will deal Brown to the team that he is least likely to succeed with and that cannot hurt the Steelers, which would be reminiscent of what the Packers did when they traded Brett Favre to the Jets (Twitter link). At the very least, Pittsburgh wants to ship Brown to the NFC, and NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco says that the 49ers — who are apparently Brown’s preferred destination — have internally discussed the idea of acquiring him.

But Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests (via Twitter) that Brown has not done himself any favors by saying he wants a new deal if traded. As indicated above, his contract demands could scare some teams away, as part of the appeal in trading for Brown is his cap-friendly deal.

One way or another, we should have a resolution by March 17, when Brown is due a $2.5MM roster bonus. If he is still on the Steelers’ roster on March 18, then he is likely to still be on it come Week 1.

View Comments (46)