John Kuhn Announces Retirement
Longtime NFL fullback John Kuhn has retired as a member of the Packers, Green Bay announced today.
“John was a terrific football player and tremendous teammate who contributed to many years of success for the Packers,” Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst said. “He was a true professional whose work ethic and leadership set a great example both on the field and in the locker room. We want to thank John and his family for all they did for the Packers and in the community as well as wish them nothing but the best.”
While he’s best known as a member of the Packers, Kuhn actually began his career with the Steelers after going undrafted in 2005. He appeared in nine games with Pittsburgh (all in 2006) and won a Super Bowl before joining Green Bay in 2007. Kuhn went on to spend the next nine years with the Packers, earning another Super Bowl title in the process. All told, Kuhn handled 196 carries for Green Bay, scoring 24 total touchdowns while collecting three Pro Bowl nods, one first-team All-Pro selection, and one second-team All-Pro berth.
Kuhn signed with the Saints in advance of the 2016 campaign and wound up spending parts of two seasons with the club, appearing in 18 games over that span. He didn’t play in the NFL in 2018, though he did express interest in doing so. PFR extends its best wishes to Kuhn as he enters retirement.
Steelers Tender RFA B.J. Finney At Second-Round Level
The Steelers have placed a second-round tender on restricted free agent offensive lineman B.J. Finney, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (Twitter link).
Finney will now collect $3.095MM for the 2018 campaign once he signs his tender. Theoretically, he could sign an offer sheet with another club, but that team would have to be willing to surrender a second-round pick in order to pry him away from the Steelers. While Finney proved himself as a capable reserve last season, it seems incredibly unlikely another team would be willing to sacrifice that sort of draft capital.
A former undrafted free agent out of Kansas State, Finney has appeared in 43 games over three seasons in Pittsburgh, but has made only nine total starts. Finney has typically earned excellent grades from Pro Football Focus, but sample size is an issue, as he’s never topped 300 offensive snaps in a single season.
That could change next year, as Finney may have the opportunity to take over for Ramon Foster at left guard. Foster, 33, will become an unrestricted free agent next month, and if he lands elsewhere, Finney will likely slide into the Steelers’ starting lineup.
Steelers Want First-Round Pick For Antonio Brown
The Steelers are still seeking a first-round pick for Antonio Brown, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link) hears. However, Rapoport does not specify whether the Steelers would ultimately accept a lesser offer. 
One has to imagine the Steelers would be willing to take less, especially since they plan on moving AB by Friday. As Rapoport notes, the Steelers’ strong desire for a first-round pick may tilt things even further in the Raiders’ favor since they are armed with three choices in the top 32.
A Wednesday report indicated that things are heating up in the Brown sweepstakes with three new teams having joined the mix in the last 48 hours. However, we have some conflicting word on that front. It’s a “one team race,” a league source tells ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson (Twitter link), with other teams deciding “the price was too high.”
One way or another, it feels like the Steelers/Brown saga is about to near its conclusion.
Steelers To Trade Antonio Brown By Friday?
It sounds like Antonio Brown won’t be with the Steelers for much longer. Teams that have spoken to the Steelers about a potential Brown trade have been told that a deal is expected to be in place by Friday, league sources tell Rich Cimini of ESPN.com (on Twitter). 
This week, the Raiders and Redskins emerged as real contenders for Brown while the Broncos, Cardinals, and Eagles appear to be out of the mix. The Jets, who were previously linked to Brown, are no longer interested, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Still, Rapoport hears that three new teams have joined the fray in the last 48 hours.
It’s surprising to hear that the Jets are pulling out of the Brown sweepstakes given their ample cap room and clear need for a playmaker. Mike Maccagnan, a GM who was given a reprieve despite a spotty track record in the draft and free agency, needs to show results in 2019 in order to keep his job, and a Brown trade would have been a clear move towards winning right now.
At this time, it certainly appears the Raiders are in the lead for Brown given their consistent interest throughout the process and their clear need for receivers. They also have $72MM in cap space – giving them the room necessary to absorb AB’s sizable contract – and a stockpile of draft picks that can be used to outbid other suitors.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/5/19
Here are today’s restricted free agent and exclusive-rights free agent tender decisions:
ERFAs
Tendered:
RFAs
Tendered at original-round level:
- Steelers: TE Xavier Grimble (via Mike Garafolo of NFL.com, on Twitter)
Non-tendered:
- Broncos: LS Casey Kreiter, TE Brian Parker (via 9News’ Mike Klis, on Twitter)
Latest On Antonio Brown Market
The Steelers’ options may be narrowing. More teams are either bowing out of the Antonio Brown sweepstakes or not too serious about a push to acquire the All-Pro wide receiver.
After reports indicated the Broncos and Eagles were not going to make proposals, the Cardinals, too, will not enter the mix, per Kent Somers of the Arizona Republic (Twitter link). Suitors do remain, however.
The Raiders are the team most consistently linked to staying in this pursuit the whole way, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (video link). Washington has also shown interest, though its cap situation ($16.9MM in space) obviously limits the franchise’s ability to take on Brown’s contract. Washington’s front office is also believed to be divided on Brown.
As for the Jets’ interest: it depends. Mike Maccagnan said he would probably contact the Steelers about Brown, and Rapoport notes the Jets are in the mix. The team had previous done internal work on a possible Brown offer. However, the Jets’ entrance into this derby may be cautious, with Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News tweeting Gang Green does not have strong interest in trading for Brown.
New York has the most cap space of any team connected to Brown, at $102MM-plus, and could accommodate a new contract. But the soon-to-be 31-year-old wideout’s odd offseason may make a long-term investment difficult, especially considering the Steelers are set to eat $21MM-plus in dead money two years after authorizing a Brown extension.
The Raiders, however, hold more than $72MM in space and are desperate for receiver help. Their three first-round picks also puts them in position to outmuscle other buyers, but this might not be an extensive market.
Latest On Antonio Brown, Steelers
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.
- 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.
Jason La Canfora On Brown, Steelers, Eagles
The NFL’s collective bargaining agreement is set to expire in two years, but Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com gets the sense than an extension will be struck before its expiration, which would mean no strike or lockout. One high-ranking league source tells JLC that a deal could even be reached prior to the start of the 2020 season, though an NFLPA source cautioned that things are still in their infancy.
Here’s more from JLC:
- The Raiders and Eagles are the team’s to keep an eye on in the sweepstakes for Steelers star Antonio Brown, JLC hears. The Titans, he says, have nothing going on with the Steelers right now and the Redskins’ front office is divided on AB, even as owner Dan Snyder pushes for a deal. The Saints and Seahawks also discussed AB internally, but don’t appear to be moving forward with the pursuit.
- Talent evaluators tell JLC that they are iffy on the talent of this year’s wide receiver class. “You might as well trade for AB or OBJ, because this is a bad draft for receivers,” one exec said. “I don’t care who ran what, this is not a good group.” JLC asked that particular exec about extraordinary athlete D.K. Metcalf as well, but he was not impressed by his fluidity or natural catching ability.
Latest On Steelers, Antonio Brown
More drama on the Antonio Brown front. The Steelers asked the disgruntled wide receiver to delay his $2.5MM roster bonus, which is slated for March 17 and set to be paid in installments throughout next season. However, Brown declined, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports.
The Steelers want to delay the bonus for cap purposes, per Florio, who adds they may well be expecting Brown’s next team to actually pay this bonus rather than them. However, if Brown is still on Pittsburgh’s roster by St. Patrick’s Day, the $2.5MM goes against the Steelers’ cap.
Brown declining could be expected, given his actions this offseason. He tweeted he and the Steelers agreed a trade would be best for all parties, and Kevin Colbert said that will, indeed, be the goal, though only if it benefits the team. Having played with future Hall of Famer Ben Roethlisberger throughout his career, Brown understandably wants to land with a team that employs a quality quarterback. He also seeks a new contract, but Florio notes the mercurial wideout has not ruled out agreeing to play for another team without having a new deal in place. In that case, Brown would expect a new contract to be agreed to before the season.
The Steelers will have to eat $21MM-plus in dead money with this trade, but that number rises to north of $23MM after March 17. They currently hold $16.3MM in cap space. A source told Florio the payment of this $2.5MM bonus would become a point of contention between the Steelers and other teams during trade talks. Brown is under the impression his bonus will arrive March 17.
“Why wouldn’t they not trade me? They gotta pay me $2.5MM on March 17,” Brown said, via ESPN.com’s Jeff Darlington. “If I invoice you March 17, $2.5MM that you gotta pay me, would you pay it or would you get somebody else to pay it? So it’s what — pretty much what’s good for their business.”
Despite Brown being at the center of the drama that has unfolded in Pittsburgh this offseason, he does not believe this unraveling is his fault. again appearing to cite Roethlisberger’s November criticism of his play as a reason this situation fell apart.
“I don’t take any blame,” Brown said, via Darlington. “I just think I took responsibility for my situation. You know, I didn’t point the finger; I didn’t make no one look bad; I didn’t throw no stones at anyone.”
This has gotten to be quite the complex rift, though Brown has fired most of the salvos. After the practice incident before Week 17, Brown skipped meetings and walkthroughs and ignored Mike Tomlin‘s attempts to reach him before attempting to suit up against the Bengals only to be denied that opportunity. Brown told Darlington that Tomlin told him to “go home” during the lead-up to Week 17 after informing the coach he was sore. This differs from Tomlin’s explanation of the events.
Brown also told Darlington he and Roethlisberger did not work out independently during offseasons and believes the relationships he had with Big Ben and Steelers brass should have be more substantial than they are.
“Criticism really is a part of the job, you know what I’m saying? I answer criticism with achievement,” Brown said. “But, you know, and the professional level is, like, yo, like, if I’m your guy, make me know I’m your guy. But don’t say I’m your guy and then point the finger. Don’t say I’m your guy and then don’t throw me the ball the whole first quarter.
“I would’ve liked for me and Ben to be cool. You know what I mean? I thought we was cool. But when I think … I’ve been to his house one time. He’s been to my house one time. You know what I mean? We don’t work out in the offseason. You think that’s winning? That’s not winning.”
The Jets, Raiders, Redskins and Titans have been the teams now connected to Brown. Prior to the Combine, the 49ers were on the radar. They may re-emerge, but not much has transpired on this front as of late.
Latest On Steelers, Antonio Brown
Another day, another update in the Antonio Brown saga. The All-Pro Steelers receiver is still demanding a trade, and now we have an update on his preferences of where he’d like to land. Brown has been loosely connected to a handful of teams, but they apparently aren’t all equal in Brown’s eyes. “Quality of quarterback play will be a factor” in determining whether Brown will agree to play for a potential trade partner, a source told Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com.
We heard earlier today that the Titans, Raiders, and Redskins had been expressing the most interest in Brown so far. It’s unclear if any of those three teams would meet Brown’s apparent standards for quarterback play. The trade market has been relatively quiet for Brown thus far, and his public demands have seemingly reduced the Steelers’ leverage in negotiations. Brown has played his entire career with one of the league’s top quarterbacks throwing him the ball, so it makes sense why he wouldn’t want to downgrade.