In 2005, Terrell Owens wanted out of Philadelphia. But he had limited tools for getting what he wanted, relative to what he’d have today.
Today, T.O. would have social media. Today, Antonio Brown has social media, and Antonio Brown is using it to support his desire to get out of Pittsburgh.
It’s unclear whether it will work, but Brown has been using his Twitter account to ruminate and agitate and instigate, taking aim most recently at quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and coach Mike Tomlin. And that could be Brown’s best weapon, because the Steelers have yet to find a trade partner or otherwise show any concrete willingness to give Brown what he wants.
So if the Steelers are thinking about playing hardball with Brown, Brown’s social-media habit could be the thing that gets the Steelers to decide that enough is enough and that keeping Brown around will be more trouble than it’s worth -- even if the Steelers eventually will be giving Brown what he wants at a time when the Steelers realize that giving Brown what he wants could be a bad precedent.