There have been indications that Antonio Brown is upset with the way things have gone for the Pittsburgh Steelers over the first two weeks of the regular season, and that talk will only heat up after the star wide receiver reportedly skipped work on Monday.
Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Brown did not show up for team meetings and film review the morning after the Steelers lost to the Kansas City Chiefs. It’s unclear if Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was aware ahead of time and excused Brown, but sources told Bouchette they did not know of any reason why he might not attend.
While it may have been a coincidence, Brown also caused a stir on Monday when he fired back at a former Steelers PR staffer who said Brown is “lucky” the team drafted him. Brown’s response was that Pittsburgh should trade him if they want to know how he would fare with another team.
Brown is off to a somewhat slow start by his standards, though he does have 18 catches through two games. He has not, however, eclipsed the 100-yard receiving mark, which is something fellow receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster did in each of the Steelers’ first two games.
In addition to his strange tweet and his absence from work on Monday, Brown has openly supported Le’Veon Bell at a time when other Steelers players have criticized the running back for being selfish with his holdout. Brown already has a history of creating distractions in Pittsburgh, most notably with the infamous locker room video he shared on social media following a playoff win two seasons ago. It’s possible he and the team are on rocky ground.
