Getty Antonio Brown
The Pittsburgh Steelers have a tough call to make on the handling on star wide receiver Antonio Brown. And from the sound of it, he may be on his way out sooner than later. While Brown is rumored to want a trade out of Pittsburgh, he’s also now made it known where he’d prefer to land it seems.
The star wideout took to Instagram to make his thoughts public, which included a quote from former San Francisco 49ers legend Jerry Rice. It also featured Brown wearing a 49ers uniform (cropped in).
Although the Steelers have done their best to pull back on original comments made on Brown, it’s tough to see how he remains with the team in 2019 and beyond. Team president Art Rooney III said it was “hard to envision” Brown being with the team at training camp, as Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette revealed.
“As we sit here today, it’s hard to envision that,” Rooney said. “But there’s no sense on closing the door on anything today. There’s snow on the ground. We don’t have to make those decisions right now.”
Steelers Pull Back on Antonio Brown Comments
Although Rooney essentially admitted that Brown’s tenure with the Steelers was over in the aforementioned comments, he pivoted a bit shortly after. As the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review cited, the team president said there is “work to do” before anything can be figured out.
“There are a lot of factors we have to take into account on it,” Rooney said. “We’d have to sit down with Antonio and understand where he is and make sure he understands where we are. There is some work to do before we figure that out.”
Some have speculated that the Steelers may not be receiving the type of offers or interest originally expected in the 30-year-old receiver. Regardless, there will almost certainly be a big trade market for him if the team opts to go that route which seems to be more and more likely as the days roll on.
Antonio Brown’s Impressive Career
After being a sixth-round selection in the 2010 NFL Draft, Brown has become an All-Pro player, being named a first-teamer four times and to the second team once. He’s also made seven Pro Bowls, led the NFL in receiving yards and receptions twice and is widely considered as one of the best players at his position.
Through 130 career games, all with the Steelers, Brown has caught 837 passes for 11,207 yards and 74 touchdowns. Over the span of the past six years, Brown has caught at least 101 passes each year while tacking on a minimum of 1,284 yards. He’s also totaled 67 receiving touchdowns with eight or more in each of the six seasons.
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