Antonio Brown could be joining the AFC West very soon
Pittsburgh Steelers superstar wide receiver Antonio Brown could be joining the AFC West very soon. Will the Denver Broncos be seeing more of him?
The Denver Broncos could be seeing more of Antonio Brown very soon.
No, he’s not going to be joining the Broncos’ roster, but it feels like there’s a very good chance he will be joining the AFC West, specifically with the Oakland Raiders.
The Raiders, along with the Broncos and Cardinals, were the initial three teams reported on Brown. The Broncos and Cardinals have since been eliminated from the list of interested teams.
The Antonio Brown sweepstakes are heating up: Sources say the #Steelers have begun telling teams that this is moving quickly and to give their best offers ASAP. This could wrap up soon. 3 new teams have jumped in the last 48 hours. Meanwhile, #Jets, #AZCardinals are out.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 6, 2019
The Raiders have three first round picks, and four selections in the top 35.
They had to trade away Khalil Mack and Amari Cooper to get that kind of draft capital, but Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock are building the team they see fit and it wouldn’t shock me at all to see Brown join the Raiders.
Derek Carr has said publicly the Raiders’ locker room would welcome Brown with ‘open arms’.
This would not be the first trade the Steelers and Raiders have struck since Jon Gruden became Oakland’s head coach for a second time.
Last offseason, they made trades involving Steelers receiver Martavis Bryant and Raiders receiver Ryan Switzer.
What’s one more trade between friends, apparently?
If the Raiders are the team that ends up acquiring Brown, it would give the AFC West arguably the two most dynamic wide receivers in the entire NFL with Tyreek Hill in Kansas City.
Considering the Broncos’ depth at cornerback is not great right now, this would be a most unwelcome piece of news, especially because it’s doubtful the Raiders are going to have to pay more than a second-round pick for Brown.
If the Raiders end up giving up a first-round pick for Brown, it would be a very interesting situation to monitor, because he’s also going to want a new contract. Why would it be interesting? Well, because Jon Gruden couldn’t even pick up the phone to call Khalil Mack before trading him to the Chicago Bears.
Gruden and the Raiders were unwilling to give Mack a new contract, but they would be willing to give Antonio Brown, who showed up to a game with playoff implications in a fur coat, didn’t play, and left at halftime?
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I guess at this point, nothing Gruden does would surprise me.
Brown is a great player, and I think he’s gotten a really bad rap after some things that are totally Ben Roethlisberger’s fault, but the situation in Oakland is dysfunctional and I don’t see how it will work out.