Somewhere in the blast radius of Ben Roethlisberger’s I’m-mulling-retirement-I-swear Tuesday detonation — mission accomplished, maybe — is a more interesting, pressing issue for the Steelers.
Specifically, it’s the organization’s ongoing criticism, open and otherwise, of Antonio Brown. NFL Network’s Aditi Khinkabwala reported on Monday that Steelers sources are concerned with Antonio Brown.
More specifically, they say they’re worried that Brown focuses on his stats over the team’s success. That’s nothing new, but the most recent manifestation came Sunday, when Brown appeared to sulk after DeAngelo Williams (not him) scored the team’s first touchdown.
Last week, after Brown’s Facebook Live trainwreck, Mike Tomlin called him out explicitly. Tomlin said that’s the sort of thing that causes players to change teams. There was no shorthand. He didn’t imply anything. He stated it outright. Roethlisberger, for two consecutive weeks, has made a point to disapprove of Brown’s behavior while also praising him overall.
Former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson is an expert on the topic.
Cut the crap & just say you don't want to pay the man, other suitors are willing‼️ https://t.co/lxkgFK8yVI
— Chad Johnson (@ochocinco) January 24, 2017
We need to see this for what it is: It’s not necessarily the team floating trial balloons for a Brown departure, or a signal that they’re unwilling to pay him exactly what he wants. It is, however, the team — publicly and otherwise — putting its cards on the table. Brown will be in Pittsburgh, at his chosen rate, as long as he chills out a bit. It’s a leverage play. It isn’t greasing the wheels for an exit.
That isn’t reading too much into the situation, and it isn’t an oversimplication; Tomlin, after Brown forced his hand, ditched subtext last week. If Johnson took it a step too far in saying the Steelers don’t want to pay Brown, anyone writing it off as nothing — the words of his coach and his quarterback, the leaks from inside the organization to a favored source — isn’t taking it far enough.
Antonio Brown is undeniably great at his job. He’s certainly too great to get rid of, especially on a team that still can win titles, as constituted for a few more years, assuming their quarterback doesn’t quit.
Most of all, the current alternatives aren’t great, as we saw Sunday. If Brown wants to be here, he’ll be here. The Steelers have spent the past couple weeks making it pretty clear.
First Published: January 24, 2017, 8:23 p.m.
