Steelers News: The Antonio Brown trade might not be as one-sided as many think

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 how the Steelers’ trade with the Oakland Raiders for Antonio Brown might not be as one-sided as many believe initially.

Let’s get to the news:

• If you’ve spent any amount of time looking at anything Steelers related since Sunday morning, you’ve seen the anger. You’ve seen the vitriol. You’ve see how upset the Steelers fan base is with Brown’s antics, as well as the Steelers organization. But what if the trade isn’t as one-sided as many believe?

Ron Cook: Is the Antonio Brown deal as one-sided as it seems?
By: Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

It’s easy to say Antonio Brown won and the Steelers lost. Brown is getting what he wanted from the Oakland Raiders — a new, bigger contract with more guaranteed money. The Steelers are getting little in return for their greatest wide receiver in franchise history — third- and fifth-round draft picks.

It looks so one-sided.

I guess I’m looking at it a little differently.

It’s hard to say the Steelers will be better without Brown, but I think there is a chance. You don’t win championships with selfish, me-first players who think they are bigger than the team. The Steelers didn’t win a Super Bowl with Brown, right? He is a bad guy. They might not be better on the field without him, but they’ll be better in the locker room. With this team at this time, that’s important.

To read the full article, click HERE

• Everyone knows the Steelers wanted to eliminate the distraction that was Antonio Brown, but how bad did they want him gone? How about a 3rd and 5th round pick trade? Yeah, it was that bad.

Analysis: Antonio Brown deal shows Steelers prioritized getting rid of distractions

By: Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

By accepting a third- and fifth-round pick in the 2019 draft for a player who is the most productive receiver in NFL history in a six-year period, the Steelers showed they wanted nothing to do with Brown’s repeated antics and left no doubt they were never going to welcome him back to the team.

The Steelers have an agreement with the Raiders to trade Brown, a four-time All-Pro receiver, but the deal cannot become official until Wednesday, the first day of the 2019 NFL season. A team source emphasized to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Sunday the deal is a verbal agreement only and “it ain’t over till it’s over.”

The trade is arguably the biggest involving a star player in team history and gives the Steelers two choices in the third round of the April draft. It also replaces the fifth-round pick they lost last year when they traded with the Raiders for receiver Ryan Switzer.

To read the full article, click HERE

• Were you a Steelers fan who wanted Eric Weddle? Well, that ship has sailed.

Eric Weddle agrees to terms on 2-year deal with Rams

By: Kevin Patra, NFL.com

Eric Weddle is on the move.

The Los Angeles Rams agreed to terms on a two-year deal with Weddle that is worth up to $12.5 million with a $10.5 million salary, a source told NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport on Friday. The team later confirmed the signing.

Weddle had 11 offers and narrowed the list down to five teams before choosing the Rams, per Rapoport and Good Morning Football’s Peter Schrager.

To read the full article, click HERE

• The Steelers are suddenly looking at a very bad trend of players forcing their way out of town. The list is getting longer, and that isn’t a good thing.

Steelers need to slam the door on players talking their way out of town

By: Mike Florio, ProFootballTalk

They can’t be surprised that Brown felt like the contract he received two years ago vindicated his antics. And they also can’t be surprised that players like Brown would think that misbehavior has its rewards. In 2014 (as Andrew Fillipponi reminded me during a Friday visit to his 93.7 The Fan afternoon-drive show), running back LeGarrette Blount seemed to orchestrate his release from the Steelers, so that he could return to the Patriots — something he didn’t deny when asked about it during the week preceding Super Bowl XLIX. Linebacker James Harrison reportedly slept his way out of Pittsburgh in 2017.

Ultimately, this kind of stuff flows right back to Tomlin, who seat surely has gotten a lot hotter now that his mismanagement of Brown will result in the Steelers enduring a public humiliation, along with the loss of a highly talented player. But it also flows up the chain of command to ownership, which seems to have allowed the three-coaches-in-50-years thing to become so much of the franchise’s identity that Tomlin has never had to fear the ultimate consequence for failing to get the most out of one of the most talented teams in football.

To read the full article, click HERE