The Antonio Brown saga rages on, as the Steelers continue to look for a trade partner for the All-Pro receiver. Brown made recent comments to ESPN that indicated he wouldn’t be accepting anything other than complete control over his situation, saying “I don’t even have to play football if I don’t want. I don’t even need the game, I don’t need to prove nothing to anyone. If they wanna play, they going to play by my rules. If not, I don’t need to play.” Brown’s threats to no longer play come on the heels of a report that quarterback play is a strong factor on where Brown wants to be dealt.
Brown’s latest comments are a ploy to get the Steelers to release him, opines Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Following up on additional speculation that the Steelers may be forced to just release Brown, Ed Bouchette of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweeted that the Steelers “will never cut him,” and would rather trade him for a conditional seventh round pick than let Brown win. The latest report has the Eagles and Raiders as strong players in a potential Brown trade.
Here’s the latest on Brown from around the league:
- The Broncos have been connected to Brown in the press, but the team isn’t interested in trading for him, according to Mike Klis of Denver 9 News (Twitter link). A source close to Denver GM John Elway gave Klis an “emphatic no” when he asked about the possibility of adding Brown. Klis writes that Browns is not “worth the price.” The Broncos recently announced Emmanuel Sanders would be back in 2019, and given that Sanders and Brown have feuded publicly in recent months, it makes sense why they wouldn’t be involved in Brown discussions.
- Add the Eagles to the list of teams that won’t be trading for Brown, according to Zach Berman of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). A league source told Berman the Eagles “do not have interest.” The Eagles aren’t in the AFC and have shown a willingness to make bold, splashy moves so it seemed like a potential fit, but they apparently aren’t interested. Philly has also been linked to another soon-to-be former Steeler, Le’Veon Bell.
- There was a report yesterday from Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com that said the Steelers don’t have to pay Brown’s $2.5MM roster bonus until Week 1 of the regular season. Florio seemed to indicate that meant the Steelers aren’t in the rush to trade Brown by March 17th, when the roster bonus is earned, that many have assumed. But Jason Fitzgerald of Overthecap.com pushed back on that in a tweet, saying he’s “never heard of not having to account” for a roster bonus in a trade, even when the bonus isn’t due until later. Based on Fitzgerald’s reporting, it sounds like the Steelers will still be on the hook for the $2.5MM cap hit if he’s on the roster on March 17th, even if they don’t have to pay it until later.
I hope the Steelers are ready to make that decision, because the more he talks, the closer that pick gets to the 7th round.
“Brown made recent comments to ESPN that indicated he wouldn’t be accepting anything other than complete control over his situation” talk about owner mentality… AB is gonna learn real quick he can’t have his cake and eat it too. If you wanna try to dictate where you’re going probably shouldn’t have signed that extension so you could choose in FA. He wants to retire if he gets traded to the wrong team? Fine don’t be an adult and prove to everyone that you’re a bigger baby than Ben… who knew that was possible.
I’m not sure he can’t have his cake and eat it too. I don’t know that the Steelers have a whole lot of good options right now. Brown continues to drop his trade value to all the teams that aren’t the situation he wants, and a team that acquires him outside of the situation he wants has to risk the same fiasco Pittsburgh is dealing with. That’s dropping his trade value. I think Brown is winning.
That’s to be determined yet. Cause the big bluff is yet to be called. They trade him- anywhere and got anything just to be rid of him- does he report or retire? I don’t think he has the guts to follow up on his threat. He needs the attention. The money. The lime light. I say dump him to the Canadian Football League
Dude
He’ll never win vs the Steelers – There never going to allow a player to dictate anything – they’ve proven that time & time again. The Steelers are one of the only teams in the NFL that could lose Brown and Bell and never miss a beat! Can you say James Conner?
Pittsburgh has devolved into a circus. I think they’ll be good to be rid of Brown and Bell, if for any reason, just to quiet things down. Though if all the Ben rumors are true, things may not stay quiet long. It’s amazing they win the games they do with all the crap going on there. Bet the fans probably just want to focus on some football for once at this point too.
Steelers should just keep him. If he doesn’t want to play he can sit on the suspended list and not get paid. 31 and not getting younger so he doesn’t have time to sit out 1 or 2 seasons.
dont he have money to live on. more then you and i in our lives ??
How do I put this nicely, are you brain dead? You say the same exact thing every time and it still makes no sense. You really really don’t get the point in this right? Did you miss the part where they agreed that trading him would be best for both parties? There is a 0% chance he’s on the roster going into training camp, they would rather get a conditional 7th than nothing so you can stop posting this.
you know what I would do . I would tell him straight up we won’t release you . we will send you to where we get a good deal and if 2 teams or more offer the same then if ur good and act like an adult u can choose wh e really u go but if not then we just keep u and bench you .
I look at it this way he’s in violation of his contract so steelers can suspend him and not play him and let him never play again just ear the money and recoup some of it this fines
How is he in violation of his contract??
The CBA also limits teams from giving players to recoup a bad investment, even if the player is causing it.
Where’s that clown who keeps saying the Steelers are to blame for this and Brown is the victim in all this? Even Larry Fitzgerald said Brown is going all wrong in this. Brown wants complete control? You’re not in control, dummy. When the trade is made, you go or…retire. Go beat up on your baby mama all day and miss that spotlight and attention. You’ll last until the first week of next season and then beg to be on some team’s roster.
He’s trying to diminish what the Steelers get for him and it’s working. A 6th or a 7th round pick is garbage.
I’d give a fourth and a seventh for Brown
Brown’s gonna run his mouth right out of the NFL. He’s taking this diva thing to a whole new level.
Another Maddens football cover person down the gazoo
AB is running a play from Colin Kaepernick’s playbook. Get all the owners to shy away from him and then call collusion.
That would be a tough sell for Brown – he’s creating his own problem with teams and it’s being documented everyday in the media.
Nobody cares what I would do…but if I can’t get a 1st for him, I keep him. And if I keep him, he sits on his bum at home.
If he sits for 2 years not playing, that will send a message to all players to think carefully before signing contracts.
Agreed