Since superstar WR Antonio Brown walked away from his team at halftime of the Steelers’ Week 17 season finale against the Bengals, the tension has been building and could reach the pinnacle today. ESPN reported yesterday that the Steelers have set a Friday deadline for teams to submit their top offers in an effort to acquire Brown, the disgruntled diva. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler also reported that there was no clear leader in the trade talks and the Steelers have not necessarily ruled out taking back less than a first-round draft pick.
While Brown has been linked to many teams over the past ten weeks, the reasonable options have been dwindling lately. It has already been reported that Pittsburgh is unlikely to work a deal with any team in their division, ruling out the Browns, Bengals and Ravens, and they also don’t plan on helping the Patriots win yet another Super Bowl. The Jets and Cardinals were discussed as possible landing spots recently, but they each reportedly backed out. It is a similar story for the Titans and Redskins, who each took themselves out of the running.
That leaves the Raiders, Packers and 49ers as the most-discussed teams, though San Francisco brass suggested they’d had no contact with Pittsburgh as recently as last weekend’s Combine. Along with their own fourth overall pick, the Raiders also own the 24thand 27thpick in the opening round, either of which could be trade bait. If the rumors of less than first-round pick offers are to be believed, maybe the Raiders third pick in the second round could even be enough. Bottom line, the Raiders have plenty of draft capital necessary to land a player like Brown, especially when the sellers are so motivated.
UPDATE:
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported late Friday night that the Pittsburgh Steelers are closing in on a deal to send Antonio Brown to the Buffalo Bills. While the compensation is still unknown, the Bills do own the ninth pick in the first round as well as the 40thoverall pick in next month’s NFL Draft. There had been some speculation that the Steelers could send Brown to a less than desirable landing spot and while QB Josh Allen showed flashes during his rookie season, there is a good chance Brown views this as a vindictive move. Just last week Brown suggested he didn’t even need to continue to play football. This story is just getting started.
UPDATE:
What a ride! In the overnight hours, following the previous report from Rapoport, well-known Bills beat writer Vic Carucci reported that while the Bills have inquired about Brown, “no deal is imminent.” The report goes on to call a Bills/Steelers deal “unlikely.” ESPN’s Adam Schefter added that a serperate source said the deal will not happen and wasn’t ever close. This looks to simply be a false alarm. This all leaves Brown in limbo as the Steelers began backing off their Friday deadline.
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Redskins Acquire Keenum
With growing doubt about the football future of Redskins veteran QB Alex Smith, Washington added another option on Thursday, trading for Broncos veteran QB Case Keenum. After a surprising run with the Vikings in 2017, Keenum landed in Denver as the starter but predictably flopped. Denver traded for QB Joe Flacco to replace Keenum in the ugliest string of quarterback moves you’re likely to find.
This move is another sign that we may not see Smith back on an NFL field, at least in 2019, leaving Keenum to face off with Colt McCoy for the starting gig. The Redskins had also been projected as a possible landing spot for Cardinals QB Josh Rosen and despite the relatively inexpensive price for Keenum, it might be enough to preclude them from using additional draft capital on the position.
Kyler Murray Update
Oh, where to begin … multiple outlets continue to report the Arizona Cardinals are locked in on taking Heisman winner QB Kyler Murray with first overall pick. Tony Pauline, Kim Jones of NFL Network and CBS’ Jason La Canfora are among the recent media members agreeing on this report.
More recently though, NFL Network’s Charley Casserly cited anonymous sources in criticizing Murray’s leadership, work ethic and whiteboard work. This might be a concern for Murray’s draft stock if he weren’t already looking like the top overall pick. As if that wasn’t enough, Dan Patrick said he had been told that Murray’s measurements may not be legit and that he could have “cheated” at the NFL Combine, where he was measured at just over 5’10” and weighed in at 207 pounds. For the record, NFL.com’s Gil Brandt spoke out against Casserly’s report as well as the suggestion that the measurements were not correct. Less than 50 days until the draft begins!
Quick Hits
The Carolina Panthers exercised their 2019 option on WR Torrey Smith. … Denver re-signed WR Tim Patrick to a one-year, $570K contract. The second-year WR played well when given the chance and should see time next year with veteran WR Emmanuel Sanders likely missing time. … The 49ers tendered RB Raheem Mostert at the original level, which is not an encouraging sign for the former UDFA. … The Steelers locked up lineman C Maurkice Pouncey (3 years, $29M) and G Ramon Foster (2 years, $8.25M). … The Jets re-signed WR Deontay Burnett to a one-year, $570K deal. … The Bears are reportedly continuing efforts to trade RB Jordan Howard. … The Giants tendered WR Corey Coleman, all but assuring he’ll be back in New York next season…Oakland gave RB Jalen Richard a second-round tender, which should keep the pass-catching back with the Raiders for another season. … Antonio Brown might not be the only star WR on the trade block as Giants WR Odell Beckham continues to be floated in talks. The Browns reportedly made an offer but not one the Giants considered. … Vikings RB Roc Thomas was charged with a felony drug possession. This is not the way for fringe players to stay in the league. … After being out of the league for the 2018 season, former Packers RB John Kuhn officially announced his retirement. … Cleveland released LB Jamie Collins after they found no trade partners. …The Ravens released S Eric Weddle, who later announced he has no plans to retire. … WR Tyrell Williams will be a hot name as the top wideout in a poor free agent class. He’s been linked to multiple teams already with the latest being Cleveland. … The Buccaneers and Ravens reportedly have serious interest in S Tyrann Mathieu.
