Raiders, Redskins, Titans Have Shown “Most Interest” In WR Antonio Brown
While plenty of teams will surely express interest in Steelers receiver Antonio Brown, it sounds like a handful of teams have been particularly aggressive. ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets that three teams have “shown the most interest” in the wideout: the Raiders, the Redskins, and the Titans.
It’s not too surprising that these three teams are seemingly emerging from the pack, as they all struggled with wide receiver production in 2018. In fact, as ESPN’s Field Yates tweets, the Titans (seven), Redskins (eight), and Raiders (nine) were all in the bottom-three for touchdowns by receivers last season. For comparison’s sake, Brown finished the campaign with a league-leading 15 touchdown receptions.
It’s been almost a month since Brown requested a trade from the Steelers, but few teams have definitively been connected to the receiver. We heard earlier this week that the Jets were considering making a move for the veteran, although they had yet to reach out to Pittsburgh. Meanwhile, Michael Silver of Sports Illustrated tweets that we should “keep an eye” on the Saints during this sweepstakes, and several other reporters have backed his sentiment.
We also heard about the Raiders interest in the receiver yesterday. The organization is a natural fit due to their need for talent and their draft capital, but our own Zach Links noted that the Steelers would be unlikely to pry away the fourth-overall pick. Instead, the Raiders’ pair of late first-rounders could be in play. Half of the Raiders receivers depth chart is set to hit some form of free agency, and the team will presumably be looking for an upgrade on Jordy Nelson as their top receiver.
It sounds like Redskins coach Jay Gruden will be battling with his brother to acquire the star receiver. With Alex Smith‘s future in doubt, the organization will also presumably be seeking another quarterback to compete with Colt McCoy. You could assume that Brown’s presence in Washington would improve their chances of attracting one of the top free agent signal-callers.
The Titans have struggled to surround Marcus Mariota with elite weapons during his brief career, although former first-rounder Corey Davis did take a major step forward last season. Adding Brown to the picture would surely improve the team’s chances of returning to the postseason.
Raiders Interested In Antonio Brown
The Raiders are one of “several” teams interested in Steelers star Antonio Brown, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Rapoport adds that there is a market developing for the ultra-talented wide receiver. 
The Raiders are in need of talent across the board and they’re a logical suitor for Brown given their significant draft capital. Oakland owns four picks in the top 35, including three-first round picks. The Steelers are unlikely to pry the No. 4 overall pick from the Raiders in a Brown deal, but picks No. 24 or No. 27 could be up for grabs.
Brown, 31 in July, earned his sixth consecutive Pro Bowl selection in 2018, finishing with 104 catches, 1,297 yards and a league-leading and career-high 15 touchdown receptions. Still, things went sideways between him and the Steelers. The rise of JuJu Smith-Schuster and the attention he received may have caused tensions to boil over between Brown and coach Mike Tomlin (plus other key figures), but that won’t stop clubs from chasing one of this generation’s most dangerous offensive weapons.
Why Steelers Didn't Tag Bell
- The Steelers opted against using the transition tag on Le’Veon Bell because the league informed them that it would cost $14.54MM, not the sub-$10MM figure they were hoping for (via PFT). Had the league given the Steelers the news they were hoping for, they could have tagged Bell and worked to trade him in exchange for draft capital.
49ers Notes: Garoppolo, Brown, Sherman
49ers quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo is expected to be ready for OTAs, as Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports writes.
“Everyone says they are ahead of schedule,” head coach Kyle Shanahan said. “And he is. I mean he’s been healing great. He hasn’t had knee trouble before. It was a clean ACL, so it’s been real good for him.”
As a QB, Garoppolo should be able to participate in OTA drills, but the risk factor is higher for teammate Jerick McKinnon. The running back, Shanahan says, is unlikely to be involved in the 7-on-7 scrimmages.
“He’s also a quarterback, so when we get to OTAs, it will be 7-on-7s, so we don’t have to worry about people falling at his knees,” Shanahan said. “So Jimmy will be able to practice a lot more than someone like Jet, who we have to be a little safer with, even though they might be at the same spot. We don’t want people to be falling into their legs, and that’s easier to control at quarterback than running back.”
Here’s more from San Francisco:
- The 49ers haven’t reached out to the Steelers about wide receiver Antonio Brown, but that doesn’t mean they won’t, Shanahan says. “We’re in the market for anything that makes our team better at every single position,” Shanahan said (via Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle).
- 49ers cornerback Richard Sherman says he’s had talks with the team and that both sides would like to continue together in 2019 (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Josina Anderson). Sherman signed a three-year deal with SF in March of 2018, but his ’19 salary is not guaranteed. As it stands, he’s scheduled to carry a $9.8MM cap figure this season.
- No surprise here, but former first-round pick Arik Armstead will be back with the team in 2019. “We’re not into losing good players, and he has played very well for us,” Shanahan said of the defensive lineman (via Matt Maiocco of NBC Sports). “I think he can take it to a whole ‘nother level and I hope to see him do that this year. If he does, that will be very good for the Niners and very good for him because he’s got the ability to do it. He’s already done some very good things for us in these two years. Hopefully, this year he can stay healthier. Hopefully, the addition of changing our style a little on the D-line will help him. And I expect him to get better.” One year ago, the Niners picked up the non-binding fifth-year option on Armstead’s contract. In two weeks, he’ll have his $9.046MM salary guaranteed for 2019.
Bucs Rumors: Brown, Steelers, Smith
We could see a lot of change in Tampa this year, but do not expect the Buccaneers to pursue Antonio Brown, GM Jason Licht says (via ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert).
From a talent perspective, the Bucs would surely like to have Brown on the roster. However, a Brown trade would require the forfeiture of significant draft capital and would hurt the team’s cap room, effectively forcing them to mortgage the future for a soon-to-be 31-year-old.
For now, the Bucs seem intent on keeping deep threat DeSean Jackson, though it remains to be seen whether they can hang on to pending free agent Adam Humphries.
Here’s more on the Bucs:
- “I don’t envision Donovan Smith being anywhere else but the Bucs, at least for next year,” Licht said on SiriusXM (Twitter link via Greg Auman of The Athletic). He added that the franchise tag is “more than likely” for the left tackle. This jibes with what we’ve heard previously. if the Bucs follow through on that plan, they’ll be even less likely to keep their hands on Humphries.
- Bruce Arians’ recent chat with Jackson went well, according to the Bucs’ new head coach. “It went great. We had a long sit-down. From my perspective, it couldn’t have been any better,” Arians said (via Jenna Laine of ESPN.com). “You’d have to talk to DeSean to find out what his perspective is. But I thought it was great. I look forward to working with him. Ton of respect for him as a player … and a person.” Licht, meanwhile, was non-committal when asked about D-Jax.
- Licht was similarly non-committal when asked about six-time Pro Bowler Gerald McCoy, who carries a $13MM cap hit in 2019 and is under contract through 2021. “Gerald’s been a real productive, successful player for the Bucs — one of the Bucs’ all-time best defensive players, you could argue,” Licht said. “He’s under contract. Ideally, [we’d] love it if he continued to be a Buc.” For what it’s worth, rumor has it that the Bucs see McCoy as a good fit, even as they transition to a 3-4 scheme.
- Rising sophomore M.J. Stewart will get looks at several positions but “we’d love to see him at safety,” Licht said (Twitter link via Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times). Last year, the 2018 second-round pick spent the bulk of his eleven games (five starts) at cornerback. He finished out with 33 tackles and three passes defensed.
- Licht noted that the Bucs can keep running back Peyton Barber with a high tender in order to keep him from free agency, which may give some insight into the team’s plans (via Auman). A second-round tender at just over $3MM should ward away other interested clubs.
- Caleb Benenoch struggled in 2018 as the team’s right guard and Licht believes that a switch to tackle is in his future, Auman writes. The change would mean a backup role, so Auman wonders if his job will be safe given his scheduled $2MM salary for ’19.
AFC North Notes: Brown, Ravens, Johnson
The Steelers‘ plan remains to trade Antonio Brown. But Kevin Colbert reiterated they will not pull the trigger if they do not believe the compensation is appropriate.
“We will only make a trade if it benefits the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Colbert said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. “He knows that. His representation knows that. That’s been clearly explained, and we’re willing to take a look. If there’s something that can be done to benefit both sides, great. If not, then we’ll deal with that when we get to it.”
Pittsburgh still wants to trade Brown to the NFC, but Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets the organization is prioritizing compensation over a preferred destination. Colbert said an intra-division trade is not ideal but did not put the Bengals, Browns or Ravens as non-starter suitors, saying “we haven’t eliminated anybody” from the trade picture. Colbert added more teams have reached out, which makes sense with all 32 teams in Indianapolis for the Combine. The Steelers would seemingly prefer to deal Brown before March 17, when his $2.5MM bonus is due, but Colbert said (via Pro Football Talk, on Twitter) the team is open to paying him the bonus and trading him later.
Here is the latest from the AFC North:
- New Ravens GM Eric DeCosta has said the team wants C.J. Mosley back, and a report indicated they also want to re-sign Terrell Suggs for a 17th season. DeCosta on Wednesday said he expects Brandon Carr to stay put. However, the new front office boss was not as certain on Jimmy Smith and Eric Weddle joining Carr in the 2019 Baltimore secondary, Jeff Zreibec of The Athletic tweets. Carr, who will be 33 in May, is due $7MM. Weddle, 34, has one season left on his four-year deal. It would save the Ravens $7.5MM by cutting him. After indicating he would want to retire if the Ravens didn’t want him back, Weddle recently changed his tune. Smith is just 30, and a release would cost the Ravens more than $6MM. But they could save $9MM-plus by making him a cap casualty. Baltimore currently holds barely $20MM in cap space.
- With Kareem Hunt now in the fold, the Browns‘ backfield is crowded. Nick Chubb will likely be the Cleveland starter for much of this season, with Hunt in line for a suspension that could comprise more than half of the 2019 season. Duke Johnson remains, too, and although he has done his best work in the passing game, Freddie Kitchens said (via cleveland.com’s Mary Kay Cabot, on Twitter) the team is not planning to move its passing-down back to wide receiver.
- The Bengals refuted a report that they are trying to deal 2017 first-rounder John Ross.
Steelers Notes: Tomlin, Brown, Bostic
Michael Lombardi of The Athletic takes a deep dive into the Antonio Brown saga, and he is pretty straightforward with his thoughts on the entire situation. He certainly puts much of the blame for the acrimonious relationship between Brown and the Steelers on Brown himself, saying that the talented wideout has a tremendous combination of selfishness, all-about-me attitude, and hostility towards the only team he has ever known. As one GM recently said, Brown is a a “[g]reat talent, but a huge pain in the ass.”
However, Lombardi also says that while Brown’s behavior has driven down his price on the trade market, interested teams are doing their homework to get to the true essence of the problem. Lombardi believes the Steelers’ culture is lost, and that head coach Mike Tomlin, despite his impressive 57-29-1 record over the last five seasons, loses critical games because he and his teams fail to handle small details and do not exhibit the physical and mental toughness they need in key situations. The Rooney family does not overreact, but Lombardi suggests the imminent departures of Brown and Le’Veon Bell will lead to a thorough evaluation of Tomlin, who will need to fix his team’s culture in order to secure his future in Pittsburgh.
- Linebacker Jon Bostic would like to return to the Steelers, but Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette says the club has no interest in re-signing Bostic. The Steelers could look to the draft to fortify their inside linebacker position, but this year’s collegiate crop of ILBs is a bit thin. Pittsburgh also needs to address its cornerback depth chart, but Dulac suggests the free agent market could be a better option in that regard given the club’s poor history of drafting CBs under Tomlin. Of course, the Steelers will use much of their time at this week’s Scouting Combine to explore the trade market for Brown.
Latest On Steelers, Antonio Brown
While the Antonio Brown saga might seem like it’ll never end, a resolution could actually be forced relatively soon. “The Steelers will try to trade Brown sometime during a five-day window that begins March 13, when the new NFL season opens, and March 17, the date on which the Steelers would have to pay him a $2.5 million roster bonus”, writes Tim Benz of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
It makes sense why the Steelers have no interest in paying him the roster bonus, and if that’s the case we should know where Brown will be playing next year within the next couple of weeks. Steelers GM Kevin Colbert confirmed yesterday that three teams have inquired about a trade for Brown. Having a set date they need to trade him by would seem to reduce Pittsburgh’s leverage in trade talks. League executives are already saying they don’t expect the Steelers to fetch more than a third round pick.
Steelers Rumors: Brown, Bell, Ravens
The Steelers are willing to explore Antonio Brown trade scenarios, but Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette senses that they would like to control where he winds up. He believes they would not want to trade him to divisional rivals (Ravens, Bengals, Browns), nor would they want to send him to the Patriots.
It’s not immediately clear whether Dulac has heard this first hand from the Steelers’ front office, but that certainly seems like a logical position for the Steelers to take.
Here’s more from Pittsburgh:
- Le’Veon Bell passed on $14.544MM in 2018, and he’ll have a lot of trouble recouping that loss in free agency, Joel Corry of CBSSports.com opines. Bell, he notes, would have to sign a deal giving him $33MM in total compensation in Year 1 in order to effectively replace the money he lost out on by rejecting the Steelers’ offer. For reference, Todd Gurley‘s recent extension will pay him $28.5MM in his first new year (2020), and Gurley is younger. Bell is also said to be seeking $50MM through the first two years, which may be unattainable given that Gurley is set to make $37MM in that span. Currently, Khalil Mack and Aaron Donald are the only two non-quarterbacks with a two-year cash flow of $50MM or more.
- The Jets are the most likely destination for Bell, in the opinion of Darryl Slater of NJ.com. Armed with $100MM+ in cap space and an obvious need for Bell, the Jets make a ton of sense. The Jets are not necessarily in a position to win right away, but Bell would probably have to accept less money to join a contender such as the Packers. The Eagles, Buccaneers, and Raiders also made Slater’s top five.
- On Friday, Steelers GM Kevin Colbert told reporters that three teams have inquired on Brown.
Three Teams Inquired On Antonio Brown
Three teams have inquired on trading for Antonio Brown, Steelers GM Kevin Colbert told NFL Network (via Yahoo Sports). Still, he does not expect a trade to come together right away. 
Stressing that the process will take time, Colbert indicated that things could pick up over the next week or so as teams gauge the free agent wide receiver market, make their “own free agency evaluations,” and watch prospects at the combine.
Still, the Steelers don’t have all the time in the world. Brown is due a $2.5MM roster bonus on March 17 and it would make little sense for them to pay that bonus and then trade him. A deal could take time, but, realistically, the Steelers have less than a month to get something done.
Some NFL executives believe the Steelers won’t get more than a third-round pick for one of the game’s most dynamic talents. Naturally, the Steelers want more.
“By no means are we going to make a trade or any type of move that will not be beneficial to Pittsburgh Steelers organization,” Colbert said recently.
Between Brown’s shots at the Steelers on social media and his other off-the-field issues, it will be interesting to see how much leverage the Steelers have in trade talks. Any team in the NFL would probably like to have Brown, but clubs also know that his relationship with the club appears to be irreparably damaged.
Brown, 31 in July, earned his sixth consecutive Pro Bowl selection in 2018, finishing with 104 catches, 1,297 yards and a league-leading and career-high 15 touchdown receptions.