Antonio Brown‘s
Week 17 blowup at practice may have been triggered by JuJu Smith-Schuster being
voted as the team MVP by Steelers players, according to sources. The ugly
blowup has led to conflicting
reports on whether Brown wants to be traded and has teammates
questioning his commitment to the organization.
Whether Brown wants out or not may be immaterial. The
Steelers, by all accounts, do not want to trade their star wide receiver, and
moving on from him would be an expensive proposition.
Thanks to the $19M signing bonus he received in his
four-year, $68M extension and the $12.96M restructuring bonus he later secured,
cutting or trading Brown would result in a $21.12M cap charge in 2019. In
theory, a rival club could blow the Steelers away with an offer, but it would
set a bad precedent for the team and they would still be facing a future
without one of the NFL’s most deadly weapons.
Brown’s 2018 stats were not as gaudy as they were in past
years, but the attention paid to him clearly benefitted Smith-Schuster. The
youngster took a huge step forward this past season as he averaged 89.1 yards
per contest and reeled in 1,426 yards in total. His 1,400+ yards topped Brown’s
total (1,297), making it the first time Brown has not led the Steelers in
receiving since 2012.
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