The Pittsburgh Steelers are looking to trade Antonio Brown following a year filled with drama, and teams are reportedly concerned that the disagreements he had with his teammates and coaches could continue even with a fresh start.
Even after Brown met with Steelers owner Art Rooney II this week to clear the air and come to a mutual agreement that a trade is best for all parties, several front office executives told NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala that teams have plenty of concerns about acquiring the star receiver.
Best case: #Steelers convince teams there were mitigating circumstances, situation just got toxic for Antonio Brown and he can again be ridiculously hard-working, productive, smiley guy he was.
More likely case (per NFL front office exec I spoke to): Teams worry he's a headache.— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) February 19, 2019
According to some front office folks I've spoken to, biggest challenge for Antonio Brown right now will be proving that he will indeed respect his new club, his new coach and his new teammates. And as one of those execs said: respect, in his mind, includes showing up to meetings.
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) February 19, 2019
Brown and the Steelers going public with their meeting was almost certainly an attempt to help facilitate a trade. Showcasing how Brown put aside his differences and worked things out with the team could, in theory, reassure potential suitors that he is mature enough to not become a distraction wherever he winds up.
Still, the way Brown has criticized the Steelers and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on social media recently has reportedly scared off at least one team. He also supposedly made a habit of showing up late to meetings last season and went AWOL heading into Week 17, so that’s another concern. Plus, Brown has been involved in some disturbing off-field incidents over the past year.
There’s no denying the impact Brown makes on the field, and that will likely be enough to convince some team to take a chance on him. However, the concerns over his personality appear to have limited the pool of suitors.
