Antonio Brown’s soured relationship with the Steelers has been a popular topic in the giant football echo chamber known as Radio Row at the Super Bowl this week in Atlanta. NFL players and coaches, past and present, have been submitting takes about it between plugs for a cornucopia of brands, and most of those takes have been dull and repetitive.
Enter JuJu Smith-Schuster. The Steelers receiver who’s lined up across from Brown the past two seasons has a bigger stake in the situation than most, so his optimistic appraisal of it while making the rounds Wednesday stood out amid the banality surrounding him.
“[The relationship] definitely can be fixed,” Smith-Schuster said in an interview with CBS Sports’ Jim Rome. “It’s something that is going to take time and communication between our head coach, the team ... it just takes time, you know?
“Obviously, the situation toward the end of the season where he didn’t finish the season because he had an injury — which is totally understandable. I don’t think he’s going anywhere. I think he’s staying black and gold and he’s going to finish out his career here.”
For the record, the injury is not the reason Brown missed the Dec. 30 season finale against Cincinnati. Rather, coach Mike Tomlin said he benched his star receiver for ignoring phone calls and missing meetings and practices for most of the week leading up to the game. Brown was listed on the injury report, but he arrived at Heinz Field that day hoping to play and only missed the game because of his coach’s decision.
Regardless, the comments are the latest in a series of deferential statements by teammates directed toward Brown lately. Last week at the Pro Bowl, several other Steelers indicated that they hope Brown re-joins the team next year. Smith-Schuster said that he’s in that camp, citing the duo’s production this season as the reason.
In a separate interview with Sports Illustrated, he also dismissed suggestions that part of Brown’s frustration with the Steelers stems from teammates voting Smith-Schuster team MVP.
Will Antonio Brown be back with the Steelers next season?
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) January 30, 2019
“For sure,” says @TeamJuJu pic.twitter.com/GbgOEbg5TP
“I didn’t really notice it,” he said. “I didn’t see anything toward me.”
On the injury front, Smith-Schuster indicated to Rome that the knee injury he suffered in the Pro Bowl on Sunday wasn’t serious and won’t have a lasting impact.
“Healthy. One hundred percent. Knee’s fine,” he said. “I’m feeling great.”
Adam Bittner: abittner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @fugimaster24.
First Published: January 30, 2019, 11:44 p.m.
