On Tuesday, the New York Jets were mentioned as one of the teams that had been in contact with the Pittsburgh Steelers regarding Antonio Brown. However, that was reportedly just an exploratory expedition.
Responding to Ian Rapoport, who initially reported the Jets connection, Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News wrote, “I was told that the Jets did indeed have contact with the Steelers about Antonio Brown, but they do not have serious interest in trading for him.”
On the surface, New York seems like an ideal trade partner with Pittsburgh to acquire Brown. The Jets have need of an elite receiver, and they have a ton of cap space heading into the 2019 season.
Yet the Jets also have a young quarterback in Sam Darnold, who may not react well to any potential drama from Brown, and they are trying to establish a winning culture around him. Furthermore, they have a new head coach in Adam Gase who hasn’t done well dealing with players who tend to be more on the vocal side, such as Jarvis Landry.
As the Jets dip their toes in the water, there is another team that has reportedly been all the way in on Brown since the start of this trade discussion.
Where he ultimately lands is anyone’s guess. For his sake, we hope it’s not one of these dysfunctional teams.