Steelers All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown is reportedly seeking a trade out of Pittsburgh after a practice meltdown led to him being benched for Pittsburgh’s Week 17 finale against the Bengals. Brown is arguably the top wide receiver in the NFL, but Colin doesn’t think he’s worth the headache because his drama doesn’t translate to playoff wins and Super Bowls.
As the league has transformed into a passing league, it’s inarguable that wideouts are more important than ever, but high-priced, high-maintenance divas like Brown and Odell Beckham aren’t necessary to win a title. In fact, the one common tie that Super Bowl champs over the last ten plus years have in common is none have had a superstar receiver near the level of Brown or Beckham – neither of whose teams made the playoffs, this year.
Now Pittsburgh is faced with the no-win scenario of either keeping an unhappy Brown on the roster to further corrode the locker room, or trade him and take a lethal $20 million cap hit. It’s a toxic situation all-around, and one that anyone could have seen coming from a mile away.