In a move that shocked many football fans, superstar receiver Antonio Brown was ruled out for the teams win-or-go-home game against the Bengals last Sunday. In a move that even further shocked football fans, it was reported that Brown did not have an injury but was benched due to disciplinary issues.
On Wednesday, in his end of season presser, coach Mike Tomlin stated that Brown had left practice after flaring up at multiple teammates including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. AB appears to be discontent with the Steelers franchise after a disappointing elimination from the playoffs. If Brown truly does want to leave Pittsburgh, it would put the Steelers in a terrible position. They would have lost their two best players(Brown and Le'veon Bell) for non injury related reasons.
Brown has actually hinted on social media that he wants out. 49ers Tight End George Kittle called out Brown tp join San Fransisco, and AB responded to that with a winking emoji. He also followed them after the interaction. Brown also posted a message he received from Tom Brady in September on Twitter, hinting that he might want to go to New England.
Despite all the rumors, Brown is not in a very tradable situation. He currently has 22 million dollars left on his deal, and 21 million of that would be dead money the Steelers would pay if they traded him. The Steelers would definitely not want to do that, but if things get really bad, they might be forced to.
Some that are likely to make a strong push for Brown are the Raiders, Jets, and 49ers. All of those teams pick in the top 5 of the draft this year. San Fransisco is by far the best option, with Jimmy Garoppolo returning from injury. The Jets have over 100 million dollars of cap space and could definitely make the deal work. Rookie Sam Darnold would blossom greatly with a receiver with the caliber of Brow. Lastly, who wants to play for the Raiders right now?
While it may seem like conflict is brewing, Brown will likely settle this before next season. He has flared up like this before, and no harm was done at the time. If worse comes to worse, and he does get traded, it would change the NFL greatly.
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