The Pittsburgh Steelers might hope to improve relations between the organization and disgruntled receiver Antonio Brown. But if recent events are any indication, that’s unlikely to happen.
By now the backstory is well known. Pittsburgh benched Brown for Week 17’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals after he went AWOL. In the midst of all this, the six-time Pro Bowler got into a rift with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
It’s now led to the likelihood that Brown will in fact be traded this offseason. After suggesting that this is a possibility, Steelers owner Art Rooney II is now indicating that he still isn’t in contact with Brown.
Art Rooney said he still has had no contact with Antonio Brown, which he called "disappointing." He said AB was not a major distraction to the team "until the last week of the season . . . the situation changed the last week of the season"
— Ed Bouchette (@EdBouchette) January 16, 2019
The star receiver made it clear on social media recently just how he feels about Rooney — a fact that was supported by this well-known 49ers player.
Since then, Brown himself has reportedly indicated he wants to play for the 49ers. Whether that actually comes to fruition remains to be seen.
What we do know is that relations between Brown and the Steelers can’t improve until they actually communicate with one another. As both Roethlisberger and Rooney noted, that has not yet happened.