Jan 5, 2019 6 min read

So, what do the Steelers do with Antonio Brown?

It’s a difficult situation. There’s no way the Steelers will get a player in return via a trade who is comparable to Brown, who just last spring was voted the second-best player in the NFL by his peers. And yet there might not be a way they can keep Brown after his latest stunt.

Teammates will put up with a lot of antics in the locker room. Facebook Live videos? Eh. Driving 100 mph on McKnight Road? Child’s play. But walking out on your teammates? Before an important game? That’s definitely stepping past the boundary of acceptable behavior.

Erratic behavior is nothing new for Brown. He’s likely the most narcissistic person you could ever encounter. He also might be the most talented wide receiver.

But, when asked if there comes a point when the distractions overwhelm the contributions on the field, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin replied, “certainly.”

Are the Steelers at that point with Brown? We’ll find out over the next month or so. Heck, it might even take longer for this whole thing to play out. After all, the Steelers don’t have to do anything with Brown until March 17. That’s when he’s due a $2.5-million roster bonus.

You can surely bet the Steelers aren’t going to be inclined to give Brown a check for $2.5 million if they don’t have any intention to keep him on the roster. Not after this latest stunt.

The problem is, trading or releasing him – they count the same against the salary cap – before that March 17 deadline costs the team $21 million.

But if they want to trade him for draft picks that will help them next season, then they’ll have to eat that $21 million against their cap.

If they’re willing to wait – and write Brown that check for $2.5 million in March – they can get salary cap relief if they trade or release him after June 1., But that might be asking the Steelers to have more patience than the incredible restraint they’ve shown thus far with Brown.

National pundits are trying to lay blame for this situation at the feet of everyone but the person most responsible. That’s not Art Rooney II. It’s not Mike Tomlin. It’s not Ben Roethlisberger.

The only person to blame for this situation is Brown himself. He’ll soon turn 31 years old. And he still wants to act like a petulant child.

Part of the problem is that Brown has surrounded himself with sycophants who won’t tell Brown ‘No,’ for fear their gravy train will dry up.

But if this situation is going to be reconciled, it’s going to be up to one of the few adults in Brown’s life, agent Drew Rosenhaus, to make it happen. If Rosenhaus can get Brown to realize it’s in his best interest to fix this, then it could happen. If not, the Steelers should ship him off to somewhere obscure, like Buffalo.

Former agent and Avella native Ralph Cindrich believes the Steelers could void Brown’s contract since he breeched it by going AWOL last week, not returning calls from Tomlin.

The Steelers, of course, could dock Brown his paycheck for the game against the Bengals. After all, he didn’t make himself available to play.

The problem is, after the team renegotiated his contract last spring, Brown’s one-game paycheck is $58,000. The bulk of his money has come in roster and signing bonuses, which is why his 2019 salary cap hit jumps to $21 million.

The Steelers could go after the remaining portion of his signing bonus, which would be more than $11 million.

But, by doing that, they would have no control of where he winds up. And they would get nothing in return for Brown.

You can bet he’d be signing with New England within minutes of leaving Pittsburgh. It probably wouldn’t matter to the Steelers, meanwhile, since they won’t be a playoff contender in 2019 if they let Brown leave without getting anything in return.

That’s the harsh reality of the situation. If Brown is gone, the Steelers will have lost Ryan Shazier, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown, all in 18 months. That’s a big talent drain.

So, while there is such a thing as addition by subtraction, there’s also the reality of a complete drain of talent.

This week’s picks

Chargers plus 2½ over Ravens: Yes, we saw this game played in Los Angeles only a few weeks ago. And the Ravens won it, 22-10, with their defense dominating the Chargers. But that’s also why the Chargers will be better prepared for this game. The Ravens play a different style than anyone else in the NFL. And that makes them a difficult team for which to prepare. But given the Chargers just did so, there won’t be any surprises. The Chargers also are getting tight end Hunter Henry back for this game, which is a nice weapon to add at this point. The NFL didn’t do the Chargers any favors by making this a 1 p.m. start but Los Angeles is 8-0 this season when it gets on a plane for a game. The Chargers will force a Lamar Jackson turnover or two and win this one, 20-16.

Eagles plus 6½ over Bears: First things first, the Bears are going to win this game. But the 6½ points is just too much. The weakness of the Eagles is their pass defense, but the Bears don’t have the offense to exploit that. And with Fletcher Cox in the middle of the Philadelphia defense, the Eagles can control Chicago’s interior running game. That means it will be important for Mitch Trubinsky to get the ball to Tarik Cohen. But Chicago’s defense will rule the day in what should be a low-scoring affair won by the Bears, 16-13.