Steelers receiver Antonio Brown has a new look with a blonde mustache and blue and gold streaks in his hair. Brown expects a life change in the next two weeks, with a change of scenery.
In a sit-down interview with ESPN, Brown said he doesn’t need football but still wants it.
“I don’t even have to play football if I don’t want. I don’t even need the game. I don’t need to prove nothing to anyone,” Brown told ESPN, via NFL.com. “If they wanna play, they going to play by my rules. If not, I don’t need to play.
“Obviously, I want the game, but I don’t need the game. It’s a difference.”
Brown again denied responsibility for the rift in the relationship with Ben Roethlisberger that is leading to Brown’s divorce from the team. It was a repeat of what he recently said on The Shop on HBO.
“I don’t take any blame,” Brown told ESPN. “I just think I took responsibility for my situation. I didn’t point a finger; I didn’t make anybody feel bad; I didn’t throw no stones at anyone.”
Brown and Roethlisberger didn’t have the kind of relationship Brown thinks they should have had off the field considering their relationship on the field.
“I would’ve liked for me and Ben to be cool. I thought we was cool,” Brown said. “When I think, I been to his house one time; he’s been to my house one time. We don’t work out in the offseason. It’s like, yo, if we really want to win, you think that’s winning? That’s not winning; that’s not winning culture.”
The Steelers reportedly want a first-round pick for Brown. He expects to have a new home before March 17 when the Steelers owe him a $2.5 million roster bonus.
“Why wouldn’t they not trade me? They gotta pay me $2.5 million on March 17,” Brown said. “If I invoice you March 17, $2.5 million that you gotta pay me, would you pay it or would you get somebody else to pay it? So it’s what -- pretty much what’s good for their business.
”. . .They want to start a fresh offseason with no bad blood so their team could just focus on football. No distraction from any player. So I think they’ll get it done.”