Steelers losing leverage with every Antonio Brown act

The Pittsburgh Steelers wanted to work things out with wide receiver Antonio Brown. They were willing to let the proverbial bygones be bygones.

Instead, Brown continued to torch the bridge between he and the team throughout the last two months. Now, as he posted on Tuesday morning via Twitter, ownership is ready to jettison a player who at 30 years old, appears destined for the Hall of Fame.

Brown no longer wants to be in Pittsburgh after nine terrific season. In that span, the Steelers reached the Super Bowl while the mercurial superstar went to seven Pro Bowls. As well as that, he was named a First-Team All-Pro on five occasions. However, the good times have ended in Pittsburgh. As a result, Brown now wants to be in another city, trying to win that elusive title.

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What Brown doesn’t realize is that every stunt — whether it’s liking a tweet that insinuates Ben Roethlisberger raped two women, or talking about wanting guaranteed money on Instagram Live sessions, or saying head coach Mike Tomlin sold you out to teammates while lying — is costing the Steelers leverage in a trade negotiation. Meanwhile, it appears both sides are more than motivated to move on. Although Pittsburgh isn’t going to simply give away a man who is arguably the best receiver in the game.

If Antonio Brown was acting with a plan in mind, he would steer clear of any controversy on social media. Agent Drew Rosenhaus must be praying that Brown doesn’t say or do any more inflammatory nonsense, hoping Pittsburgh gets him to another franchise before there is absolutely no chance of having his contract reworked. Currently, Brown is on a three-year, $39 million deal with almost no guaranteed money left.

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In the meantime, the Steelers now have to find a team that is willing to pay a legitimate price. Pittsburgh should be looking at the only two teams with multiple first-round picks in the upcoming NFL Draft, the Green Bay Packers and Oakland Raiders. Green Bay and Oakland both make ample sense, with the Packers trying to win over the next few seasons with Aaron Rodgers still in his prime. As for the Raiders, they have three first-round choices and are desperate to both improve and have a sellable face as the team readies for a move to Las Vegas in 2020.

Nothing with the drama involving Antonio Brown and the Steelers has been easy. Certainly, coming to an agreement on trade compensation won’t be either.