Jan 26, 2019 7 min read

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – The Antonio Brown saga just continues to grow more and more curious by the day.

Cam Heyward and Maurkice Pouncey both spoke out about the receiver in a positive fashion this week during practices for the Pro Bowl at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, crossing off one important part of what could possibly pave the way for him to stay in Pittsburgh.

Pouncey was particularly outspoken, saying he feels Brown and the Steelers can work everything out.

“Time heals everything,” Pouncey said. “People are so quick to be judgmental. I know it’s a disappointing season. We’ve got a lot of great players on our team. I honestly think we should still be playing right now. Reporters and fans who have followed the team a long time, I get it, it’s disappointing. Trust me, we’re disappointed as well.

“It will get worked out. I’ve been in fights with guys at practice. Am I not supposed to go talk to them again? They are my brothers, my family. You get past all of it. The stories you see now, it’s funny, they’ll never get brought back up when everything gets right.”

The question is, can everyone get right, especially since Brown has yet to return a call from anyone in the organization, including his teammates?

That hasn’t happened yet, though his agent, Drew Rosenhaus did tell ESPN he has been in contact with the team to inform the Steelers of Brown’s intentions.

At this point, we can guess what Rosehaus told the Steelers based on what others have been saying publicly.

This week, it was Terrell Owens, calling himself Brown’s “mentor,” who came out of the woodwork and express his sentiments about the situation.

“I’ve talked with Antonio Bown throughout the course of the year,” Owens said on a Pro Football Talk podcast. “And I’ve kind of known some of what has been going on. He’s leaned on me for advice, as somewhat of a mentor, so to speak. … I think with him, I think it’s a fresh start to go elsewhere and part ways with the organization and with some of the things that he and Ben (Roethlisberger) have been confronted with.

“Absolutely. He wants to move on.”

If that’s the case, Brown picked the right guy as a “mentor.” Owens, after all, wore out his welcome with five different teams in his career.

Despite all of that, Brown’s teammates – or former teammates – continue to express optimism.

“I love the guy. I think the world of the guy,” Heyward said. “I love that he strives to be the No. 1 receiver. I’m not saying I’m perfect. I’ve been a jerk and done plenty of stupid things. I’d love to have him on our team. That’s all I can ask for. I look forward to the season with a bunch of guys whose intent is to win the Super Bowl.”

If you think his teammates publicly saying they want Brown back isn’t a big deal, remember their reactions when James Harrison was released during the 2017 season or when it became apparent Le’Veon Bell wasn’t going to report at the start of the 2018 campaign.

They practically lined up to kick Harrison and Bell on their way out.

This has a much different feel to it.

So perhaps the situation is salvageable. But Brown has got to want that to be the case, first. And that doesn’t look like it’s going to happen anytime soon.

• Judging from the people Brown has spoken with – Deion Sanders, Owens, Jerry Rice – his biggest issue seems to be with Roethlisberger making comments about performance at times or praising others at his expense.

Or, at least that’s his perception.

• The NFL has a problem. And it’s a big one.

A blown pass interference penalty in the Rams’ overtime win over the Saints in the NFC Conference Championship is just the latest in what has become a seemingly weekly situation of people talking about the state of officiating in the league.

Is it worse than ever, as some people are saying? Probably not.

The problem is that social media and high-definition TVs and DVRs that allow for immediate rewinding and watching plays in slow motion have made for immediate outrage when officials blow a call.

Of course, the one that just happened cost the Saints a trip to the Super Bowl. Having occurred on such a big game, it’s sure to be a hot topic when the league meets in Arizona this spring.

Look for a lot of push for the league to add an eighth official, in the booth, who is capable of buzzing down to the field if he sees an egregious mistake.

You know, like an offensive lineman taking two full steps into the backfield before the ball is snapped and it not being called. Or a phantom pass interference penalty on a fourth down play in the end zone. Or even one that wasn’t called such as happened last Sunday.

Saints fans have every reason to be upset that their team won’t be playing in the Super Bowl next weekend because of a blown call. But given that a phantom pass interference penalty on fourth down called on Joe Haden in the end zone helped them to a win over the Steelers that most certainly could have changed the outcome of that game and put Pittsburgh in the playoffs, they won’t get much sympathy around here.

• With T.J. Watt, JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner among the Steelers at the Pro Bowl, the Steelers scored pretty well with their 2017 draft class.

Just 16 players from the 2017 draft class have earned Pro Bowl berths to this point, with the Steelers and Bears having three each.

Interestingly enough, the Steelers haven’t had three Pro Bowl players come out of the same draft class since 2010. But while Pouncey, Emmanuel Sanders and Brown have all be voted to multiple Pro Bowls, Sanders’ two trips came as a member of the Denver Broncos after he left the Steelers in free agency.

Prior to that, you have to go all the way back to the 1992 draft to find three players selected by the Steelers who made the Pro Bowl. That year produced tackle Leon Searcy, Levon Kirkland and Joel Steed. But, like Sanders, Searcy’s Pro Bowl trip came with another team, the Jacksonville Jaguars, after leaving the Steelers.

But that 2010 draft class helped the Steelers to the Super Bowl that season, the team’s last appearance in the championship game. And that 1992 class were all key members of the 1995 team that reached the Super Bowl.

So there’s some hope the 2017 class can do the same.

“I know T.J. plays defense with me and I hope he has the same aspirations as me, Super Bowl and defensive player for the year,” Heyward said. “On the offensive side, those guys are pretty special themselves. You have James Conner, he gets hurt halfway through the season and he was close to 1,000 yards. And then you look at his blocking, his catching. JuJu popped on the scene so early but elevated his game into more than being a compliment to a great player. You look for guys to take those steps each year.”