Antonio Brown does not seem to be on solid ground with some of his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates, coaches and superiors, but the star wide receiver has apparently not asked ownership to trade him.
Not yet, at least.
Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported on Tuesday that Brown has asked the Steelers to trade him this offseason but did not make a demand. However, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has a different understanding of the events that have unfolded in Pittsburgh over the past week, as he was told Brown brought trade talk into his outburst at practice but did not formally request to be dealt.
My understanding of the situation surrounding #Steelers WR Antonio Brown: As he exited the field in frustration on Wednesday, he yelled, "I’m done!" Then wondered why they don’t trade him. More venting in anger than anything. He has not made any actual trade request, officially.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 1, 2019
If the Steelers did trade Brown, they would need to absorb a $21 million dead cap hit in addition to finding a team that is willing to pick up his $15 million salary. It’s possible the situation worsens and Brown tries to force Pittsburgh to part ways with him, but it does not sound like the two sides have gotten to that stage yet.
Brown missed Pittsburgh’s final game of the season on Sunday, and reports began to trickle out on Monday that he was benched for disciplinary reasons after he voluntarily skipped practices during the week. He apparently decided not to attend practice because of an altercation he had with Ben Roethlisberger. While making his final appearance of the season on KDKA-FM radio Tuesday, Roethlisberger downplayed the disagreement and said he hopes Brown is back with the team in 2019.
