Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown made an obvious mistake when he decided to broadcast live from his team’s locker room after a playoff win, but did that lapse in judgment expose a more prevalent issue?
According to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Brown’s antics have been “wearing thin” on his teammates and coaches. That creates an interesting situation with Brown having just one year remaining on his contract and expecting an extension this winter.
More from Bouchette:
Brown’s antics are wearing thin on some of his teammates and certainly his coaches. He has one year left on his contract and they promised him this would be the year they negotiate an extension for him. What will he want and what will they be willing to pay? Brown has them over one large barrel.
While Brown may ruffle some feelings, he never let it affect his play and he remains one of the hardest workers on the team — and has not missed a game to injury the past four seasons, except for the concussion sustained in the 2015 postseason.
Without Brown, the Steelers really have no receivers they can count on. And drafting even a good one guarantees nothing.
Nope, it would appear they have to swallow hard, sign him and hope he continues to perform as one of the NFL’s best receivers as he turns 29, and that his antics are limited to those they can live with.
It should be noted that no one ever really spoke about attitude or off-field issues regarding Brown before the locker room video incident. You could easily argue that the narrative has been blown out of proportion, but some comments Ben Roethlisberger made recently indicated he has been frustrated with Brown at times.
While Mike Tomlin and the rest of the Steelers organization were unhappy with the way Brown’s season ended, it’s tough to imagine them trading the 29-year-old or letting him walk in a year. Brown is still one of the top five — if not two or three — receivers in the league. He’s going to get paid no matter what.
