Antonio Brown’s days with the Pittsburgh Steelers are numbered.
The disgruntled wide receiver and the franchise have decided it was best for both parties to go their separate ways, as Pittsburgh began shopping for a trade for the 30-year-old.
But just because the Steelers agreed to trade Brown, doesn’t mean they are going to hand the All-Pro wideout to a rival or competitor in the AFC.
The Steelers would prefer to trade Brown to an NFC team, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported Friday, and the franchise has formed “no-trade zones” that include Pittsburgh’s AFC North rivals, and the New England Patriots.
Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert made comments to a similar tune Wednesday, per Colbert’s report.
“I mean, when you’re trading away a player like this who could determine your own record and your own Super Bowl potential, of course you want to not trade him to teams that might be a factor,” Colbert said. “But if those teams step up and say, ‘Look, we’ll give you the best picks or the best players,’ then we have to make that judgment. OK, yeah, they’re a competitor, but what they’re giving us far exceeds what these other folks are willing to do. So will we be selective? It depends on what the compensation is.”
Obviously, the Steelers would prefer to avoid a situation where they could line up against Brown multiple times a year. That shouldn’t to a surprise to anyone. Who ever does land Brown is getting one of the most useful receivers in the league of the better part of the last decade. Brown has hauled in 100 receptions in each of the last six seasons.
