The Season is over, The Circus is Not!

Chuckleheads, come one, come all to amazing, dysfunctional, traveling Pittsburgh Steelers Circus. Antonio Brown via social media stated: “Steeler Nation thank you for a big 9 years!!!!! Time to move on and move forward.” Brown, the player hasn’t missed a beat, having another strong year on the field, was maybe putting on an audition for his potential suiters. 2018 for the Steelers was jammed full of drama and AB seemed to be at the center of a lot of it.  The killer BS has diminished to just Ben – and maybe that says more about the internal problems than anything else. Sometimes the team feels more like a reality show, and with the confirmation of Brown wanting out, it’s only going to get wilder as draft day approaches.
Last week of the season: the team must win, and another team must lose for the Steelers to be in the playoffs. Wednesday practice began and the bad blood between Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger continued: words were exchanged, Brown left the field and screamed “I’m done.” He did not return to the organization until Sunday: the day of the game, where he was told he was not playing. The move appeared to be a “you think you can win without me, see how open Juju is without me” from Brown’s perspective – and he wasn’t proven wrong. For most of the game against the Bengals, the Steelers struggled to move the ball or sustain any sort of momentum from the offensive side of the ball. Now with Brown looking to leave town for good, the Steelers have to be asking themselves what happened two years ago: you had the “killer Bs” and now the offense will rely heavily on if Roethlisberger can win with the young talent surrounding him, or if the window for Steeler nation been slammed shut.
2018 saw Antonio Brown do what Antonio Brown does on the field, catching 104 passes for 1,297 yards and career-high 15 touchdowns. Six straight seasons with 100 plus receptions and 1000 or more yards. In his 9 years with Pittsburgh, Brown has had quite a career, racking up 11,207 yards and 74 touchdowns. There is no question Tony Toe Tap can play the game; he’s a 7-time Pro Bowler and 4 time All-Pro. The 30-year-old is in year 3 of a 5-year contract worth $72.2 million, and now he wants out. The Steelers are on the hook for him regardless of what they decide to do.  If they keep him on the roster, he is owed $2.5 Million, due on the 5th of March: 5 days into the new NFL season. The Steelers would then be on the hook for $22.16 million in cap if no trade is made. If he is traded, they would be on the hook for $21.12 million. If you trade him, what are teams willing to give up? If you hold on to him, is he going to play for you? That second question gets brought to light more with his off-the-field issues and changes in Brown’s personality in recent months.
Off the field, Brown has had just as many issues as he seems to have with Mike Tomlin and Ben Roethlisberger. First, he had an issue with a reporter both in OTA’s and training camp when questioning possible injuries. Brown had an issue in the off season come to light during the season, where Brown reportedly threw things from a balcony where he was staying: damaging property and being sued for those damages. Antonio denied the allegations, and as of last reported, planned on fighting both lawsuits. Fast forward to November and Brown gets cited for going 100MPH in a 45MPH zone on McKnight road in Pittsburgh. On January 17th, police responded to a domestic disturbance, where Brown allegedly shoved a woman with both hands to get her off his property after failing to pay the woman for his daughters’ hair appointment. The same day he officially announced to his fans that he was “leaving” Pittsburgh, he failed to show up for his hearing for the reckless driving in November. There have been a few other instances with Brown not showing up to events for fans on time and the whole “filming the locker room” thing the week before playing the Patriots two years ago.
Who are the early front runners to go after Antonio’s services? Well, the Steelers have moved on from big name receivers in the past: Plaxico Burress, Santonio Holmes, and Mike Wallace to name a few. But with the drama and baggage that Brown brings with him, what can you get for him? Brown wants to go to the 49ers and has made that clear, although so far reports have said there is not that big of a market for him. Oakland and head coach John Gruden have the draft picks to play around with that could make for an interesting lead up to draft day. The Green Bay Packers are a team that needs a solid number one receiver and also happen to have two first-round draft picks to play with. Lastly, the Indianapolis Colts, who will have more cap space than any other team, could trade for and sign a new deal with Brown. Interesting thing about the Colts: they are also rumored to be interested in Brown’s former teammate, running back Le’veon Bell.
Looking at the whole picture, Brown is one of the (if not THE) best receiver in the NFL today. On the field and in his offseason both, no one can compete with his work ethic and no one can argue the production you get from him. His time in Pittsburgh has come to an end: he did not handle wanting to leave in the best way and if anything has damaged the product, he is by acting in the manor that he has. He will be on an NFL field next year. Honestly, if I’m Kevin Colbert, I explain to Brown’s people that they should come talk with us and come to an agreement to get Brown on his way and the organization compensated for it. If Brown doesn’t want to sit down and the Steelers are going to have to take the cap hit regardless, I would fine him a game check every week that he doesn’t want to cooperate. Regardless what Brown wants, not returning to teammates, coaches, management, or ownership is not the way to accomplish what you want. That all being said, I have enjoyed watching Antonio Brown play and wish him the best: his business is productive on the field, but I will be happy to see the off-field drama gone.