Following a meeting between Antonio Brown and the Pittsburgh Steelers Tuesday, it’s now out in the open that the team will attempt to trade the disgruntled star.
Of course Brown would love to go from one contender to another as part of this change in course. But what if championship-contending teams find his past behavior to be too much of a headache as it’s been reported? Or, what if the Steelers decide to stick it to Brown and trade him to a non-contender?
With those questions as our guide, we’re looking at five of the worst possible trade destinations for Brown this spring.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Even if the Jaguars do land Nick Foles in a trade or free agency, they’re going to be a run-first team. Blake Bortles is said to be all but gone, and there’s nobody else on the roster currently capable of winning games or distributing the ball to an elite receiver downfield. If it’s not Foles under center, the Jags will either have to roll with another sub-par veteran or throw a rookie into the mix. Regardless of who it is, it’s not going to be a great situation for a receiver to find himself in next year.
Washington Redskins
Washington is pretty much in the same boat as Jacksonville. Alex Smith is still months away from even really getting into his rehab program. Colt McCoy is a below-average quarterback who struggles to throw deep. The offense will either be led by a mediocre free agent or a raw rookie. And furthermore, Washington is just consistently one of the biggest dumpster fires in the NFL. Brown wants no part of this team in 2019.
Miami Dolphins
The news around NFL water coolers is that the Dolphins are planning on tanking the 2019 season in order to land one of the top quarterbacks in 2020 rather than risk this year’s mediocre draft class. Ryan Tannehill has been the best quarterback in Miami since he was drafted, and that’s not saying a heck of a lot. He’s expected to be traded or released, too. It’s not going to be fun being a receiver in Miami’s offense next season.
Buffalo Bills
There’s no doubt Antonio Brown would be good for young quarterback Josh Allen. But one could easily argue that Allen would be very bad for Brown’s production. One of the more inaccurate passers in the league, he’s really off when he misses the mark. It’s not hard to imagine Brown blowing his top after a few games of finding himself wide open only to have Allen either not see him or miss him badly.
Tennessee Titans
Tennessee’s offense is … not wide-receiver friendly, to say the least. Granted, the Titans haven’t had a receiver of Antonio Brown’s caliber in maybe forever. But they also want to pound the rock, and then pound it some more. Additionally, starter Marcus Mariota has struggled badly when healthy the past couple of years and continues to be injury prone. It’s just not a great situation for any offensive star outside of a running back.