Steelers would have tough time retaining Antonio Brown

The Pittsburgh Steelers need to move on from Antonio Brown, but not everyone is ready to accept that.

After Antonio Brown blew up on Ben Roethlisberger during a Wednesday practice before Pittsburgh’s Week 17 clash with the Cincinnati Bengals, the five-time All-Pro skipped the next two days of work before missing a Saturday meeting. Now infamously, Brown didn’t play in that game and showed his displeasure by leaving the contest at halftime.

Despite all that and a host of other issues throughout the season — including the alleged incident where he threw furniture off a 14th floor balcony and threatened an ESPN reporter — Brown remains one of the best players in the league. Pittsburgh has him under team control on a contract that amounts to three years and $39 million. That is a damn steal when compared to other elite receivers around the league.

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Still, after quitting on his team in a must-win scenario, along with the comments made by owner Art Rooney, the Steelers are compelled to see what they can get for him on the open market.

Center Maurkice Pouncey disagrees, however. He said this week that something can be worked out if Brown and the franchise are willing to talk. Per The Athletic:

“You can’t tell me a good phone conversation or a sit down can’t get things right. Hopefully, it comes to that,” Pouncey told The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly at the Pro Bowl on Wednesday. “At the end of the day, things can get worked out. Honest to a truth we feel that from both guys — from talking to Ben (Roethlisberger) and personally knowing AB and being in the draft class and he’s been here a long time to play football. I know this football team and I know you get over things. It’s not like somebody said something about a family member. It was a football argument.”

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Pouncey’s stance is understandable, but it’s still going to be the proverbial uphill battle. Brown is phenomenal, but he turns 31 years old in July. While the contract is cheap compared to his stats, he’s also becoming more trouble than he’s worth in Pittsburgh. This season, JuJu Smith-Schuster led the team in receiving yards, and while it’s easy to say Smith-Schuster benefits from Brown’s presence (which is true), the same is also true the other way.

Pittsburgh has time to figure out what route it wants to take.  If no team offers up a first-round pick for Brown’s services, maybe Pouncey ends up being right. Still, considering all that has happened in the last year, it’s hard to envision the Steelers believing that Antonio Brown being on the roster is the best end result.