The Pittsburgh Steelers’ season is over, but if you think the news surrounding the black-and-gold is over — think again. For the drama-filled Steelers, things are just heating up, and this is where the daily links article comes in. You might have missed some key news, and we fill you in and give you the latest, and sometimes greatest, news surrounding the Steelers.

Today in the Black-and-gold links article we take a look at whether Jon Gruden and the Oakland Raiders are the perfect trade partners for Antonio Brown and his services.

Let’s get to the news:

Some leaning toward Antonio Brown going to Oakland Raiders

By: Tim Benz, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

We’ve spent a lot of time talking about the prospect of Antonio Brown going to San Francisco.

Former Redskins general manager Charley Casserly seems to think we were close but are looking at the wrong team in the Bay Area.

Albert Breer on “Monday Morning Quarterback” echoed that idea.

A.B. in Oakland with Jon Gruden? This seems to fit on so many levels.

Think about it. You have a reality-detached renegade with a blonde mustache shipped out to the NFL’s island of misfit toys before a move to Las Vegas.

I can see billboards of “Ronald” on The Strip as we speak. Picturing Brown in Silver and Black is almost as easy as seeing him in Black and Gold.

Plus, we know he’ll clash with Gruden. That’ll be typical Raiders on so many levels. I’d love to see the battles between Chucky and Mr. Big Chest.

Derek Carr will froth at the mouth to get a receiving option like A.B. Tight end Jared Cook was the best pass-catcher on the club last season with 896 yards and six touchdowns.

His top receiver was Jordy Nelson. He had only three scores and 739 yards. Brown had 15 TDs and 1,297 yards in a “down” year.

The Raiders have three first-round picks to deal. If they don’t want to give up one for Brown, they could use one to trade down and spend additional second- or third-round currency to get him instead.

Beyond that, only five teams in the league have more cap space than the Raiders.The team has 23 unrestricted free agents who may move on, as well.

No, trading Brown to Oakland wouldn’t accomplish the goal of getting him out of the conference. But if recent history has taught us anything, the Raiders don’t need good players to beat the Steelers anyway. So what’s the difference?

The Steelers don’t play the Raiders next year. Brown may melt his way out of the league by the time he is scheduled to face the Steelers again.

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Steelers won’t take discount for Antonio Brown on trade market

By: Joe Rutter, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Kevin Colbert is willing to grant Antonio Brown’s trade request.

With one condition.

“By no means are we going to make a trade of any type of move that will not be beneficial to the Pittsburgh Steeler organization,” Colbert said Wednesday during a meeting with reporters. “We will not be discounting you on the trade market. And we certainly will not be releasing you.”

So much for the Steelers accepting a diminished return for Brown, who met with team president Art Rooney II and Colbert on Tuesday to discuss the All-Pro wide receiver’s future.

Brown emerged from that meeting saying the two sides mutually agreed it is “time to move on.”

Colbert offered a slightly different perspective about the meeting Wednesday, saying he didn’t discount Brown returning to the Steelers even though he has issues with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and coach Mike Tomlin.

“I don’t think any relationship is irreparable,” Colbert said.

Colbert said Brown will be traded only if the Steelers receiving “significant” compensation in return even though the 30-year-old receiver has damaged his value by skipping practices and meetings in the final week of the season, ignoring phone calls from Rooney and Tomlin, taking shots at Roethlisberger and Tomlin on social media and asking his new team to renegotiate his contract to provide more guaranteed money.

“We will take a positive approach and if someone has a sincere interest and they want to make a move with a significant pick or set of picks or a significant players plus picks and we think it will benefit us in the long run, we are all in,” Colbert said. “If not, we will make that decision at that point.”

Brown is due a $2.5 million roster bonus on March 17, the fifth day of the new NFL calendar year. Colbert it as a “factor” in trade talks.

“Could we get something done in the meantime? We will all work for that,” he said. “We all understand what is real and what isn’t.”

Colbert said Brown’s behavior on Tuesday was contradictory to what was displayed by the wide receiver since the end of the season. He said Brown requested a private meeting that included his father, Eddie, and Rooney. The discussion lasted “20-30 minutes” before the group reconvened with Colbert, team executive Omar Khan and Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus.

(To read more, click the link in the headline...)

Steelers’ sensible scenarios for replacing Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell

By: Jeremy Fowler, ESPN

A year ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers had the game’s best tailback-receiver tandem. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s best supporting cast was expected to elevate Pittsburgh to its first Super Bowl appearance since 2010.

But a concoction of failed NFL business, broken trust and player conviction has forced the Steelers to rebuild both positions on the fly.

After 837 catches, 11,207 yards and 74 touchdowns together over nine seasons, Antonio Brown and the Steelers are initiating their split.

After nearly 130 yards per game over five seasons, Le’Veon Bell and the Steelers are well into divorce proceedings thanks to Bell’s yearlong holdout.

Replacing one of those players is hard. Replacing both is a talent drain. But with prudent front-office work, the Steelers can craft the blueprint to preserve roster strength.

Antonio Brown

Trade plan: The Steelers send Brown and a 2020 sixth-round pick to the San Francisco 49ers in exchange for a 2019 second-round pick and a 2020 fifth-round pick.

The Steelers maximize Brown’s value with a trade partner that needs a playmaker for quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. The Steelers wanted a first-round pick, but Brown’s age (31 in July) and off-field issues might thwart that plan. Shipping Brown to the NFC gets him out of their backyard, though they would have to play him next season. But there’s no way the Steelers will trade Brown to the New England Patriots or an AFC North rival. Despite his issues, Brown is simply too good not to net a Day 2 draft pick in return.

(To read more, click the link in the headline...)