Steelers’ Stance On Antonio Brown Changes? Owner’s Comments Suggests Maybe

Perhaps Antonio Brown isn’t as good as gone after all.

Pittsburgh Steelers owner Art Rooney II suggested Wednesday in a conference call with fans the All-Pro wide receiver still might have a future with the team. Speculation over Brown has raged since his reported spat with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger drove him to miss practices and meetings ahead of the Steelers’ must-win Week 17 matchup and ultimately the game, too. Subsequent reports claim Brown has requested a trade and the Steelers will try to oblige him.

Rooney indicated as much Jan. 10 when he told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he’d struggle to envision Brown with the team next season. However, the comments Rooney made Wednesday indicate the Steelers haven’t decided to end Brown’s career after nine seasons.

“There are a lot of factors we have to take into account on it,” Rooney said when asked about the chances of Brown (and holdout Le’Veon Bell) returning to the team, per the Tribune-Review’s Joe Rutter. “We’d have to sit down with Antonio and understand where he is and make sure he understands where we are. There is some work to do before we figure that out.”

Hours after Rooney addressed the situation, Brown posted a cryptic tweet which merely read “open for business.” Brown hasn’t responded to calls from teammates, coaches and Rooney since Week 17, so the timing of his tweet is curious, to say the least.

We only can assume at this point Brown’s saga with the Steelers will rumble on for weeks, maybe months, to come.