Antonio Brown’s Contract Demands Nixed Offer Of First-Round Pick?
Antonio Brown‘s offseason has produced numerous headlines, that spree continuing after his arrival in Oakland. But not a ton of clarity emerged on what other offers the Steelers received for their perennial All-Pro wide receiver.
The Raiders swooped in after the Bills’ brief talks regarding Brown ended without a deal, landing a player on course for the Hall of Fame for third- and fifth-round picks. Interested teams had issues with Brown’s demand for a new contract, one of which apparently was ready to submit a much better proposal to the Steelers.
Brown’s financial demands stopped at least one team from offering a first-round pick, Jeremy Fowler and Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com report. Had the 30-year-old wideout been available without seeking another new contract, the ESPN duo notes Pittsburgh may well have acquired an extra first-round pick — presumably in 2019. However, teams knew a month prior to the trade that acquiring the mercurial wideout meant negotiating a new contract.
A slew of suitors emerged for Brown, in addition to the Bills, the Eagles, Saints, Titans and Redskins among them. The Bills were believed to be ready to swap first-rounders with the Steelers and part with two mid-round picks. That is the best known offer for Brown, and Fowler reports the Steelers felt strongly about the Bills’ proposal. The Patriots were indeed interested as well but the Steelers held firm on their stance not to do a deal with them.
After some convincing, the Raiders agreed to amend Brown’s contract. The Steelers dropped their asking price to those third- and fifth-rounders, with Kevin Colbert optimistic about the teams trying again — after some failed early talks on March 8 — to get a deal done. Brown ended up with $30MM in additional guarantees. The Steelers hold the Raiders’ No. 66 and No. 141 overall picks.
Complete 2019 NFL International Pathway Program
Moritz Boehringer is back in the NFL. The German tight end, who became the first European player ever to be drafted without playing American college football back in 2016, has been allocated to the Bengals as part of the league’s international pathway program, per Darin Gantt of ProFootballTalk.com.
Boehringer’s assignment to the Bengals completes this year’s program. Each season, teams in two divisions get a roster exemption to develop a player from another country. The player can be the 91st man on offseason rosters, and can be an 11th player on practice squads during the regular season. Boehringer was drafted by the Vikings, but spent his rookie season on the practice squad without ever appearing in a game. He came into the league as a receiver, but has since transitioned to tight end. He was with the Bengals as part of this program last year, and will be back in Cincy in 2019.
Here’s a list of the rest of the players selected to participate:
Baltimore Ravens
- FB Christopher Ezeala
Buffalo Bills
- RB Christian Wade
Cleveland Browns
- DB Tigie Sankoh
Miami Dolphins
- DT Durval Neto
New England Patriots
- TE/FB Jakob Johnson
New York Jets
- RB/WR/KR Valentine Holmes
Pittsburgh Steelers
- TE Christian Scotland-Williamson
The AFC North participated last year, but this year the AFC East is taking the place of the NFC South. Notably, Efe Obada was a participant in the program with the Panthers last year, and he went on to make Carolina’s 53-man roster last season. He was re-signed this offseason.
Each of the players assigned to the AFC North were with those teams last year. Scotland-Williamson is a former rugby player, while Boehringer, Sankoh, and Ezeala all played American football overseas before making the leap.
All of the AFC East players are new to the program. Given the Patriots’ track record of finding hidden gems, Johnson will likely end up leading the league in receiving yards at some point. Johnson was signed from the German football league. Neto was playing football in Brazil before being added to the Dolphins. Wade and Holmes are both former prominent rugby players.
Ben Roethlisberger Not Pressing For Contract
- While other quarterbacks like Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers have recently campaign for new deals, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has not taken the same tack, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Roethlisberger, 37, is entering the final year of his contract: he’s due a $12MM base salary and will count for $23.2MM on Pittsburgh’s salary cap. He’s still engaged in ongoing negotiations with the Steelers, and as Florio notes, Roethlisberger would be due more than $60MM over the next two years if the franchise tag was deployed, so that could be a starting point in talks.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/17/19
Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: OL Brant Weiss (Alliance of American Football)
Chicago Bears
- Re-signed: CB LB Isaiah Irving, DE Roy Robertson-Harris (exclusive rights free agents)
Kansas City Chiefs
- Re-signed: DB Jordan Lucas (restricted free agent)
- Re-signed: K Harrison Butker, DT Justin Hamilton (ERFAs)
Los Angeles Chargers
- Re-signed: CB Trevor Williams (RFA)
Los Angeles Rams
- Re-signed: S Blake Countess (RFA)
- Re-signed: DE Morgan Fox, DB Dominique Hatfield, WR KhaDarel Hodge, WR JoJo Natson, DB Kevin Peterson (ERFAs)
New York Giants
- Re-signed: WR Corey Coleman (RFA)
Oakland Raiders
- Re-signed: WR Marcell Ateman, K Daniel Carlson, T Justin Murray (ERFAs)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Re-signed: TE Xavier Grimble (RFA)
San Francisco 49ers
- Re-signed: DB Greg Mabin (ERFA)
Steelers To Host Miles Sanders
- Penn State running back Miles Sanders has been vaulting up draft boards (he currently ranks one spot behind Collier at No. 46 on Jeremiah’s list), and he has a busy schedule ahead of him. Sanders is scheduled to work out for/meet with the Bears, Eagles, Steelers, Ravens, Bills, Cowboys, Falcons, Titans, Bengals, Panthers, Buccaneers, and Colts. In 2018, Sanders’ only season as a starter, he posted 1,274 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 220 attempts.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/9/19
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Los Angeles Chargers
- Signed: LS Cole Mazza
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: WR Greg Ward
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DL Casey Sayles (AAF)
Steelers Host Two CBs
The Steelers could be eyeing a cornerback with one of their top-two picks. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports (via Twitter) that the team will be hosting a pair defensive back prospects this week: Georgia’s Deandre Baker and Washington’s Byron Murphy.
As Fowler points out, this isn’t necessarily an ideal scenario for the Steelers. After all, the organization selected five cornerbacks between the 2015 and 2017 draft. Furthermore, their projected starters (Joe Haden and Steven Nelson) were both acquired via free agency.
Minor NFL Transactions: 4/8/19
Here are Monday’s minor moves, with more Alliance of American Football players finding NFL homes:
Carolina Panthers
- Signed: TE Thomas Duarte (AAF), T Brandon Greene (AAF), WR Rashad Ross (AAF)
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: DE Shakir Soto (AAF)
Miami Dolphins
- Signed: LB Tyrone Holmes (AAF)
Minnesota Vikings
- Signed: DE Karter Schult (AAF)
New York Jets
- Signed: WR/KR Valentine Holmes (International Player Pathway Program signee)
Oakland Raiders
- Signed: WR Demornay Pierson-El (AAF)
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: QB Luis Perez (AAF)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: DT Winston Craig (AAF), LB J.T. Jones (AAF), CB Kameron Kelly (AAF)
Tennessee Titans
- Signed: TE Keith Towbridge (AAF), QB Logan Woodside (AAF)
Washington Redskins
- Signed: G Salesi Uhatafe (AAF)
NFL Draft Rumors: Metcalf, Bills, Bucs
Ole Miss wide receiver D.K. Metcalf will take a Top 30 visit with the Bills on Monday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Metcalf, who boasts the most impressive physical tools of any wide receiver in this year’s class, could be an option for Buffalo with the No. 9 overall pick.
Some have knocked Metcalf for his lack of natural catching ability, but he had no trouble reeling in the ball in 2017 when he averaged 16.6 yards per catch and scored seven touchdowns for Ole Miss. There’s also some concern about Metcalf’s health, but he was cleared for all football activities in January following his October neck surgery.
Here’s a look at the latest NFL Draft buzz:
- Oklahoma wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown will visit the Buccaneers on Monday, a source tells Rapoport (on Twitter). The Bucs could use another wide receiver after losing DeSean Jackson and Adam Humphries, but it’s not clear whether they’d be willing to use the No. 5 overall pick at that position.
- Iowa tight end Noah Fant will visit with the Lions on Monday, Rapoport reports. Fant registered 518 receiving yards and a team-high seven touchdowns in his final campaign with the Hawkeyes. The Lions could use a player like Fant after Levine Toilolo, Luke Willson, and Michael Roberts underwhelmed last year. Recently, the Lions strengthened the TE group by adding Jesse James, but there’s still room for improvement.
- Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker will get together with the Steelers, per RapSheet. Last year, Baker captured the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back. But, at 5’11 and 193 pounds, Baker doesn’t offer ideal size for the position.
- Washington tackle Kaleb McGary will visit with the Patriots on Monday and the Packers on Tuesday, Rapoport hears. There has been some speculation that McGary could be employed as a guard at the pro level.
- The Giants are hosting Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell and Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver, Rapoport hears. The Giants are armed with picks at No. 6 and 17, though one of those selections may be spent on drafting Eli Manning‘s successor.
- Charlotte guard Nate Davis will take a Top 30 visit with the Bills, Rapoport hears.
Latest On Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers
- Despite the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger having been engaged in extension discussions for more than a month, no impasse between the parties exists, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. While the Steelers have spoken with Big Ben’s agent, Ryan Tollner, little dialogue has transpired between the Steelers and their 16th-year quarterback, Dulac adds. One year and $23.2MM remain on Roethlisberger’s current deal. Despite entering his age-37 season, Roethlisberger stands to take on even greater importance this coming year — considering the caliber of players the Steelers recently lost.
- The Steelers are doing some research on higher-end cornerbacks in this year’s draft, hosting Rock Ya-Sin and Justin Layne on pre-draft visits Friday, Ray Fittipaldo of the Post-Gazette notes. A former Division I-FCS transfer who played just one season at Temple, the 6-foot Ya-Sin nevertheless rates as the No. 29 overall prospect on NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s board. A converted wide receiver, the 6-2 Layne started two seasons as a corner at Michigan State.