It’s no surprise Antonio Brown had many suitors this offseason, and the reigning Super Bowl champs apparently were one of them.
After a trade to the Buffalo Bills went up in flames, Brown was sent from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Oakland Raiders. An end to the star wide receiver’s tenure in Pittsburgh seemed inevitable after the tumultuous end to his most recent season.
On his podcast, “The Boomin Experience Podcast,” Brown shared a phone conversation with his agent, Drew Rosenhaus. The chat took place prior to Brown’s trade to Oakland, and it was centered around Rosenhaus giving his client an update on where trade talks stood with various teams.
In addition to the Bills and Raiders, the New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins and Tennessee Titans also were interested.
Rosenhaus indicated that he connected Bill Belichick with Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert. Here’s some of Rosenhaus and Brown’s exchange about New England.
Rosenhaus: I think the Steelers are taking it very seriously and trying to get (a trade) done, and that’s why they’re willing to consider New England. You know, think about that. Think about playing with the greatest quarterback in NFL history, and he’s a cool guy.
Brown: I’m saying, they’ve got them first rounds (picks) too, so am I going top two rounds? I’m going at least the first two rounds.
Rosenhaus: Oh yeah, oh absolutely. Of course, man.
Brown: That would be an honor.
Rosenhaus: They won’t tell me exactly what they’re willing to offer, but I have a feeling it’s going to be very lucrative for us.
Brown: That’s gonna be amazing.
Rosenhaus: And I don’t think we’ll have any problem getting a deal done with these guys.
Brown: Yeah we need that, we need that respect, that guarantee, that — Robert Kraft a cool guy, too.
Rosenhaus: Kraft is one of the wealthiest guys in the NFL, AB.
Brown: Yeah I’ll pull up, that would be great. That championship talk.
Ultimately, the Steelers got a third- and fifth-round pick in exchange for Brown. Moving the 30-year-old couldn’t have been easy for Pittsburgh, as the wideout carries a massive cap hit and the Steelers essentially had no leverage because Brown had been clamoring for a trade.
Regardless, it doesn’t sound like the Patriots offered the Steelers enough to convince them moving their star player to a conference rival would be a smart move.
