The Pittsburgh Steelers and Antonio Brown appear headed for an even
messier split than expected, as Brown took shots at Mike Tomlin and Ben
Roethlisberger.
Over the past couple of months, Antonio Brown has made his
intentions clear. The star wide receiver wants out of Pittsburgh, and while the
Steelers organization has attempted to make peace with one of the most
statistically dominant wide receivers in league history, Brown’s mind appears to
be set.
Yesterday, Brown liked a tweet
from a Twitter user who noted the past rape
allegations against Ben Roethlisberger, and he’s used
social media to angle for trades to the Green Bay Packers and
San Francisco 49ers.
But Brown made two more pointed statements at his head coach
and quarterback in Pittsburgh. In tweets made on Saturday afternoon, Brown
claimed that Tomlin benched him in Week 17 when he was injured, insinuating
that the coach tried to give the impression that Brown had quit on the Steelers
during a playoff
After the coach
tell the team I quit while nursing some bumps then invite me to watch the show
with same guys thinking I quit i cannot stand with that! I’m the bad guy doe we
miss post season think about it
Brown’s benching came amidst reports that he had a dispute
with Roethlisberger, throwing a football at the Steelers quarterback before
refusing to practice. This report
denied that Brown missed Week 17 due to a knee injury.
No conflict just
a matter of respect! Mutual respect! He has an owner mentality like he can call
out anybody including coaches. Players know but they can’t say anything about
it otherwise they meal ticket gone. It’s a dirty game within a game. #truth
In the tweet above, Brown took aim at Roethlisberger,
stating that while he has “mutual respect” for Roethlisberger, he dislikes the
fact that Big Ben is allowed to call out those around him. He resents
Roethlisberger’s “owner mentality”.
Other tweets
from Brown cement the idea that he is looking for an
opportunity elsewhere, whether it’s with the Packers, 49ers or another team
interested in acquiring a wide receiver who caught 104 passes and 15 touchdowns
last season. The implication here is that Brown doesn’t see himself winning a
Super Bowl in Pittsburgh anymore. Brown would have no shortage of suitors
despite this blow-up with the Steelers organization, especially if a team
decides he’s either worth the headache or sides with the Madden 19 cover star.
It will be interesting to see how the Steelers respond to
Brown’s tweets, given they’ve
been trying to patch things up with their best player. Trading
Brown would be an onerous task, as the Steelers would have to eat more than $20
million in dead cap and likely wouldn’t get fair value for a perennial
100-catch wide receiver. But for the Steelers, who usually do things their way
and value stability, Brown’s latest actions may be deemed unforgivable, even if
this may be a case of a player standing up for himself in a league that frowns
upon any inkling of dissent.
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