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WR Antonio Brown, FA (3 Viewers)

Interesting tweet from Evan Silva: 

Owner wants to meet & clear air with Antonio Brown = #Steelers already capitulating off hardline stance. They benefit in no way by moving him. It hurts them. And if he's such a cancer, man up & trade him to #Patriots. Inject that poison into your "rival." He'll surely sink them.

Link

 
Godsbrother said:
Again AB is acting like he is an UFA and not a player signed for another 3 years.    His only leverage in this is to be such a A whole that the Steelers will take any deal just to get rid of him.  However if I am the Steelers and the best I can get is a middle round pick I am sending him to Buffalo or Arizona.
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Yes send him to freakin Siberia, a perennial bottom dweller. If not, tell him to bad no trade. If he doesn't show up, even better. Deactivate him & he doesn't get paid. I mean really,  what team wants this joke on their team at this point. I seriously think he had a mental breakdown. 

 
Godsbrother said:
Again AB is acting like he is an UFA and not a player signed for another 3 years.    His only leverage in this is to be such a A whole that the Steelers will take any deal just to get rid of him.  However if I am the Steelers and the best I can get is a middle round pick I am sending him to Buffalo or Arizona.
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I've been dubious of the reports that they can only get a mid round pick but if that turns out to be true I would just not trade him. No huge salary cap benefit either way so I'd be be ready to let this linger into training camp. Maybe you get lucky and some team has early camp WR injury and you get a trade like Vikings got when they panicked and paid a first for Bradford. If you are only risking a mid round pick it's not much of a risk IMO. If the goal is put the screws to AB that would do it. You can tell he's anxious to get on a new team, making him twist in the wind for half a year or so would freak him out. And in terms of screwing it to AB, if that's the goal, be harder for him to get money added to this deal if he's getting traded well after FA ended and teams spent money.  And if he chose to sit out the year so be it, I believe Steelers would even be able to recoup some bonus money.  If the risk is losing a mid round pick in the 2019 draft I don't see much downside to just holding him.

 
menobrown said:
I've been dubious of the reports that they can only get a mid round pick but if that turns out to be true I would just not trade him. No huge salary cap benefit either way so I'd be be ready to let this linger into training camp. Maybe you get lucky and some team has early camp WR injury and you get a trade like Vikings got when they panicked and paid a first for Bradford. If you are only risking a mid round pick it's not much of a risk IMO. If the goal is put the screws to AB that would do it. You can tell he's anxious to get on a new team, making him twist in the wind for half a year or so would freak him out. And in terms of screwing it to AB, if that's the goal, be harder for him to get money added to this deal if he's getting traded well after FA ended and teams spent money.  And if he chose to sit out the year so be it, I believe Steelers would even be able to recoup some bonus money.  If the risk is losing a mid round pick in the 2019 draft I don't see much downside to just holding him.
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The goal is not necessarily to put the screws to AB but at this point he has severed his relationship with his QB, Head Coach and Owner.  If he is not dealt he is not going to play nice so you have to part ways.  Trade him to the highest bidder not in the division if you can but if you're getting a middle round pick offers then by all means trade him to a lousy team 

 
Ideally the Steelers get some return in the form of a pick, but if the league is genuinely wary of the circus AB brings and all the Steelers get offered is a 6th-7th rounder, would they be better off simply deactivating AB? It’s a long term team message of “don’t be a D-bag,” but decent chance the late round pick they receive wouldn’t make the roster anyway. If they receive a first in return, then yes absolutely jettison AB! But isn’t there a tipping point where you just let him rot?

 
32 Counter Pass said:
Interesting tweet from Evan Silva: 

Owner wants to meet & clear air with Antonio Brown = #Steelers already capitulating off hardline stance. They benefit in no way by moving him. It hurts them. And if he's such a cancer, man up & trade him to #Patriots. Inject that poison into your "rival." He'll surely sink them.

Link
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That is kind of how I see it too. If they really think they'll be better off without, then where he goes should be irrelevant. 

Honestly, between this, and the talk they may tag Bell, I'm starting to come around to the side that the Steelers are the problem more than Bell/Brown.

 
Edgar said:
Ideally the Steelers get some return in the form of a pick, but if the league is genuinely wary of the circus AB brings and all the Steelers get offered is a 6th-7th rounder, would they be better off simply deactivating AB? It’s a long term team message of “don’t be a D-bag,” but decent chance the late round pick they receive wouldn’t make the roster anyway. If they receive a first in return, then yes absolutely jettison AB! But isn’t there a tipping point where you just let him rot?
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I would think that would violate the players union in some way. Also, a great way to piss off the fan base, as well as other players. 

 
travdogg said:
I would think that would violate the players union in some way. Also, a great way to piss off the fan base, as well as other players. 
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Surely his actions amount to conduct detrimental to the team, if the team chooses to go that route. 

 
I think we have reached a point if maximum silliness when the discussion turns to determental conduct, To my knowledge the only law AB has violated is excessive speed. Granted it was not a good look but hardly determental to the team.  

What I would love to see is the Steelers ask for a prorated refund of his signing bonus in return for free agency. Rubber be hitting the road. 😀

 
I mean, as of the MVP vote in December, AB has essentially gone into hiding. The employee didn’t show up for work or meetings, wouldn’t return phone calls, but he did show up to collect his game day check! Then the off-season hits and he’s back into hiding (with the exception of taking to social media to bad mouth teammates and the organization). Now he’s making his rounds on what he thinks is a UFA tour while he’s under contract for 3 years. He refused to meet with his boss, but now says he will. Who knows if he actually will show his face. I doubt it.

Is this isn’t detrimental conduct, please tell us what he needs to do to achieve it. 

 
Another bizarre twitter rant today. He said he's take 10 questions, by my count took 6, but some replies he gave back had nothing to do with the question.  Really was just a lot more reason to wonder about his mental state. His reps need to try harder to reign in him while this process plays out.

 
menobrown said:
Another bizarre twitter rant today. He said he's take 10 questions, by my count took 6, but some replies he gave back had nothing to do with the question.  Really was just a lot more reason to wonder about his mental state. His reps need to try harder to reign in him while this process plays out.
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He is upset Rooney has never been to his house. How many owners make house visits?

 
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Responding to a social media question about his frayed relationship with Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown said Roethlisberger has an "owner mentality like he can call out anybody, including coaches."

"Players know, but they can’t say anything about it otherwise they meal ticket gone," Brown said. "It’s a dirty game within a game." This came after Brown said he did not have a "conflict" with Roethlisberger but was simply seeking "mutual respect." Roethlisberger certainly has not hesitated to publicly call out Brown in the past. It was considered a potential friction point even before last season's Week 17 drama. There have been signs in recent days Brown and the Steelers will eventually work things out, but serious issues pretty clearly remain.

SOURCE: Antonio Brown on Twitter

Feb 16, 2019, 11:52 AM
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NBC Sports' Peter King reports Antonio Brown's critical tweets of Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger have scared off at least one team.

Brown tweeted Roethlisberger has an "owner mentality" and called out Tomlin for telling the team Brown quit on them during Week 17. King writes the tweets put off at least one team, and he believes they also scared off others. If they are worried about anything, teams should really be more concerned about Brown's recent run of off-field issues. That said, neither those incidents nor the tweets will prevent teams from lining up to acquire one of the best receivers in the league.

SOURCE: Football Morning in America

Feb 18, 2019, 7:39 AM
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Really amazing to see a guy go from humble hard working 6th rounder with something to prove to a completely toxic nutjob. His interviews from when he was in his 1st 3 years to now are day and night. His head has blown up bigger than Barry Bonds at his roid peak.

 
lod001 said:
Really amazing to see a guy go from humble hard working 6th rounder with something to prove to a completely toxic nutjob. His interviews from when he was in his 1st 3 years to now are day and night. His head has blown up bigger than Barry Bonds at his roid peak.
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Antonio continues to baffle me. He used to be the coolest guy -- meeting with fans, always willing to pose for a picture or deal with the media. 

Now? 

Whoa. Talk about diva.  

 
lod001 said:
Really amazing to see a guy go from humble hard working 6th rounder with something to prove to a completely toxic nutjob. His interviews from when he was in his 1st 3 years to now are day and night. His head has blown up bigger than Barry Bonds at his roid peak.
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He’s the very very best in the world at what he does. He’s no longer some little 6th round pick. While I think he sounds a little nuts recently I’m also ok with him making demands for what he wants. He’s earned it and the system works against players. 

 
I think Ross Tucker nails it

He said it's all about guaranteed $ a day after saying it wasn't about a new contract & says he wants to be called "Mr. Big Chest".

I don't think even he knows what he's doing or going to say next.

In all sincerity, at what point does this become a mental health concern?

His behavior the last 7 months has been so erratic ...
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While his points about Ben are valid, he needs to get over himself and realize that the franchise QB will always be more important and given more leeway when it comes to stuff like that.  We cannot forget that Brown is the guy who did a FB live video while Tomlin was giving a postgame speech a few years ago.  

 
Ghost Rider said:
While his points about Ben are valid, he needs to get over himself and realize that the franchise QB will always be more important and given more leeway when it comes to stuff like that.  We cannot forget that Brown is the guy who did a FB live video while Tomlin was giving a postgame speech a few years ago.  
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Get over himself :lmao:  

He is the BEST IN THE WORLD AT WHAT HE DOES. 

How many people can say that? 

 
Capella said:
He’s the very very best in the world at what he does. He’s no longer some little 6th round pick. While I think he sounds a little nuts recently I’m also ok with him making demands for what he wants. He’s earned it and the system works against players. 
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Sometimes I chuckle at when peoples bias about issues show up, that is a pretty lazy statement.  Obviously your comment and previous ones over the years indicate how the players should have the power and control over management.  You do understand that this issue has nothing to do with $$, except he makes so much money per year it does not help his desire to be moved.  This appears to clearly be a I do not feel appreciated issue (not getting the MVP, QB that yells at him, coach that I respect so much I troll his end of the season  press conference, President of the company does not meet me at my house, etc).  So the answer is to hold the team hostage by a scorched earth mentality to let me leave. 

The only management/system aspect that works against him is his inability to move to where he wants to go.  Boo hoo, he did not need to sign the length of contract that still has 3 years on it.  BTW, that argument drives me nuts.  Most of us do not get to go where ever we want in our professions.  You want to be highest paid, highest status in your profession you will have move to places you may not want to...finance - New York, acting - Hollywood, etc.  I choose a profession so I could make a good living in smaller sized towns because that was important to me.

I strongly disagree with this mentality that because he is elite he should be able to make his own demands that no one else gets to make.  There will always be "adjustments" made for key people, but not when it interferes with the whole work environment.  Rarely do we put up with that in our own work environment world and when it happens in my experience it becomes one of the reasons that people want to leave.  This is a team sport with 50+ other players that all could make demands as well.  Quickly the whole team efforts become focused on protecting "me" and we get the dysfunction we see in Pittsburgh.

 
Capella said:
Get over himself :lmao:  

He is the BEST IN THE WORLD AT WHAT HE DOES. 

How many people can say that? 
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Lets see if he is the best in the world in Arizona, Jacksonville, etc.  His greatness is directly related to his surrounding situation...Pittsburgh system, elite QB, poor defense. 

BTW, he gets paid like he is the best, so that is not part of his problem.

 
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If I were a potential suitor, I would be concerned that he's squawking about getting a new deal. He signed an extension two years ago with a $19 million signing bonus and another $19 million guaranteed. So whoever picks him up could have him for 3 years for $36.5 million. But AB wants to wipe out what he got the last two years upfront or guaranteed. If he stayed in PIT, he'd have a tough time demanding another new deal as they already paid him the majority of the money.

 
Ksquared said:
Lets see if he is the best in the world in Arizona, Jacksonville, etc.  His greatness is directly related to his surrounding situation...Pittsburgh system, elite QB, poor defense. 

BTW, he gets paid like he is the best, so that is not part of his problem.
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Since AB came to town, the Steelers have ranked 1, 1, 6, 14, 18, 11, 10, 7, and 16 in points allowed. Does that really qualify them as having a poor defense?

 
AB needs a mental health evaluation and soon. Great talent, but this guy’s talking himself out of the league

 
Haven't been keeping up in this thread so much but I just wanted to post a quote from my friend.  I share his sentiment.  We talk a couple times a week just about this situation and how over it we both are with the whole situation.  

"Let me just make sure I'm understanding this whole Antonio Brown situation correctly.

- Over the course of 3-4 years he has shown himself to be one of the most narcissistic, me-first players in the NFL.
- Then he's had multiple behavioral and legal issues just in the past year.
- Then he throws a tantrum during a practice like a child, storms off the field, quits on his team for the rest of the week, and has his *beeping* AGENT tell his coach he's ready to play instead of doing it himself. As if that is even remotely acceptable...
- He then proceeds to bad mouth his teammates, his coaches, the franchise, and most stupid of all, the owner (you know...the guy who pays him).
- He refuses to talk any of his teammates, his coaches, or the owner before saying he wants to be traded. Oh, and this whole time he's been "courting" teams to "sign him."

Now he has the *beeping* audacity to say he wants a new contract??? Bro...you've got 3 years left on your current contract, and you're 31. The hell are you talking about? News flash my guy. You're not a *beeping* free agent, as much as you'd like to think you are. You don't get to choose where you go. You aren't "open for business." You're contracted to a team for 3 more years.

Oh, and that contract that you apparently hate? You know, the one that the Steelers gave you after you *beeped* and moaned the last time you were upset that the Steelers took a shot on you before you were who you are? Yea, that contract made you the highest paid WR in the NFL.

This guy has to be the most ungrateful sack of *beep* I've ever seen in the NFL. At least with Le'Veon I can understand him trying to get paid what he thinks he's worth. There's at least some logic behind it, you on the other hand...man...I have no idea what you think you are doing"

 
I can see instinctively siding with a player's demands based on the CBA, but this is a little extreme. He's letting his demands get in the way of performance, which is why he's getting paid at all. He's the best at what he does, but he needs to physically be there to do it. 

I don't know. I don't like the CBA either, but maybe he should have negotiated for more guaranteed money than he's getting. 

I do worry about his mental health. I also fear he'll wind up a sad story, broke and hurting. Right now, he seems to be talking and acting his way out of the league.  

 
I don't think he's looking for more money, he's just looking for the current money to be guaranteed.  A team that's serious about bringing him on probably won't hesitate to do at least 2019.  He's too much of a bargain cap to not roll those dice at least once.  I would love the Raiders to bring him in.  Guarantee 2019 and roll guarantees on February 1st each subsequent year.  If he's not a clown he keeps getting the next season guaranteed.  If he's a problem and they aren't making the playoffs they can snip him.

 
Adam Schefter✔@AdamSchefter

Antonio Brown met today with Art Rooney, per source. Then Brown’s agent Drew Rosenhaus joined the meeting, as did Steelers’ GM Kevin Colbert and exec Omar Kahn. Meeting was cordial and “everyone agreed the trade will be for the best,” per source.

10:17 AM - Feb 19, 2019

 
Ksquared said:
Lets see if he is the best in the world in Arizona, Jacksonville, etc.  His greatness is directly related to his surrounding situation...Pittsburgh system, elite QB, poor defense. 
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fitz down?

AB may be the best wr to ever play the game.  At least he is close enough.

pay him, by him flowers, build him a throne and build the rest of your team around him.

who cares if he is a diva or mental case, the NFL is about winning games, not sucking off your management.  

im buying in dynasty and willing to over pay. 

 
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zeeshan2 said:
“everyone agreed the trade will be for the best,”
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This sucks for the Steelers.  I know they have to move on from AB because he just doesn't want to be a Steeler any longer, but the only chance they have at getting anything worthwhile at this point is if two teams get into a bidding war for his services. 

 
Leeroy Jenkins said:
I am sure they gave them permission to seek out a team willing to do the contract but let them know trade demands. Hopefully AB shuts up for a few weeks now ....
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That would be a smart move by Brown and his agent, as he could then dictate what team he gets traded to, instead of the Steelers shipping him off to the NFL purgatory (the Raiders). 

grateful zed said:
fitz down?

AB may be the best wr to ever play the game.  At least he is close enough.

pay him, by him flowers, build him a throne and build the rest of your team around him.

who cares if he is a diva or mental case, the NFL is about winning games, not sucking off your management.  

im buying in dynasty and willing to over pay. 
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He is a great WR, but best ever? No. 

I agree though, the NFL is about winning games, and if recent history has shown us anything, it's that you don't need a stud WR to win games, and overpaying one really doesn't help. 

 
Steeler said:
This sucks for the Steelers.  I know they have to move on from AB because he just doesn't want to be a Steeler any longer, but the only chance they have at getting anything worthwhile at this point is if two teams get into a bidding war for his services. 
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AB has the potential to turn a crappy receiving corps into a good one and a good one into elite.   I think there is a decent chance that teams will be willing to part with a high draft pick (2nd round) to get that kind of player.   All it takes is one team.

 
zeeshan2 said:
Adam Schefter✔@AdamSchefter

Antonio Brown met today with Art Rooney, per source. Then Brown’s agent Drew Rosenhaus joined the meeting, as did Steelers’ GM Kevin Colbert and exec Omar Kahn. Meeting was cordial and “everyone agreed the trade will be for the best,” per source.

10:17 AM - Feb 19, 2019
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Dan Snyder white courtesy phone...Dan Snyder white courtesy phone.....

 
For those who were complaining about the Steelers unwillingness to give Lev Bell a boatload of guaranteed money, this one of the reasons why they didn't want to.  They paid AB top dollar and it still wasn't good enough, now they will trade him for less than he is worth and get stuck with a huge cap hit. 

 
brewer said:
For those who were complaining about the Steelers unwillingness to give Lev Bell a boatload of guaranteed money, this one of the reasons why they didn't want to.  They paid AB top dollar and it still wasn't good enough, now they will trade him for less than he is worth and get stuck with a huge cap hit. 
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I think it speaks more to team ownership's inflexibility and culture.  It seems odd to me that two of the best players at their position in the entire league all of a sudden want nothing to do with one of the most storied and stable franchises in league history.

 
brewer said:
For those who were complaining about the Steelers unwillingness to give Lev Bell a boatload of guaranteed money, this one of the reasons why they didn't want to.  They paid AB top dollar and it still wasn't good enough, now they will trade him for less than he is worth and get stuck with a huge cap hit. 
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It's just a shame his contract was not structured like the way the Giant's did Odell's. That contract was one that is really better for the team and the player, major difference was they pushed more guarantees into his future base salaries then the Steeler's did with AB.

So now just one year into Odell's deal,  even with him getting paid more then AB, the Giants can deal him for less of a cap hit and gain more cap space back then the Steelers will get when they trade AB and AB completed two years of his deal. 

 
tangfoot said:
I think it speaks more to team ownership's inflexibility and culture.  It seems odd to me that two of the best players at their position in the entire league all of a sudden want nothing to do with one of the most storied and stable franchises in league history.
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I am not sure why people keep trying to make the Lev Bell and Antonio Brown situations as being similar.

Bell has not been under contract and has indicated he wanted to remain a Steeler but the two sides have been unable to agree to a deal.  I'm not sure if he still feels that way but I have a feeling if they paid him what he wants he would be okay with that.

AB is the one that wants nothing to do with the Steelers and it isn't about money.

 
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