Antonio Brown - Alive & Well in TB?

[thebeast]

Yuck, he has been terrible when Ben has missed time. His qbs have been terrible too, but who knows what happens once Ben does retire.

[thebeast]

Yuck, he has been terrible when Ben has missed time. His qbs have been terrible too, but who knows what happens once Ben does retire.

It would have been better to say that without Ben it's been his numbers that have been terrible.

[maxhyde]

Losing a good QB hurts the whole team. AB will suffer more I think because of the great timing and connection they have on the field. Not sure I have seen a WR-QB pairing so in sync with each other and the success is next level stuff

[joeday]

During the two games that Landry Jones started (and finished) Brown went for 6-124 and 7-106. Just some food for thought.

[cornhole2412]

I think the second Ben retires his value takes a massive blow, and the blow becomes worse if he were to happen to miss anytime with an injury this year. We are very close era of "how long can this little guys body hold up" and "he's 30!!!! Call the nursing home!!."

I also think the second Big Ben retires AB is still a stud and will produce WR1 numbers for a year or 2 at least and have a nice slow and steady decline in production and trade value until he's about 33-34 and then retires on his piles of money and beautiful women.

[WhatWouldDitkaDo]

Please. If Ben retires, I'll buy Brown. If Brady retires, I'll buy Gronk. Etc etc. These guys are transcendent talents, and they will shine regardless of QB.

[Friction]

Fitz led the league in receptions last year at his age, albeit with Carson Palmer. You never know what QB will be there if/when Big Ben retires, but the Steelers won't just sit idle and you never know what QB may be available a year from now or if they jump on one of the good prospects. Though that scenario does present the good chance of Year One growing pains.

[KCLep20]

See what happened to DT once good Peyton was gone. He went from being top 3 to being top 12. I expect the same type of thing for AB. He will still be a WR1 but it will be on the low end rather than the high end.

[Mr. Wizard]

I think as a talent he could last a few more years in top gear, but I'm worried about Ben just vanishing one year.

[Kramer]

About 3 years at an elite level with or without Big Ben imo.

[Lssd2012]

As we are seeing with Hopkins / ARob / Sammy, QB is a HUGE factor for sustained success in the league. If / when Roth retires next year and they are unable to get an average QB, then I fully expect Brown to drop to back end WR1 or high end WR2 levels. We've already seen how ineffective brown is with Landry Jones lol

[Lssd2012]

As we are seeing with Hopkins / ARob / Sammy, QB is a HUGE factor for sustained success in the league. If / when Roth retires next year and they are unable to get an average QB, then I fully expect Brown to drop to back end WR1 or high end WR2 levels. We've already seen how ineffective brown is with Landry Jones lol

[Crwdstunna]

AB is on another level than guys like ARob or Sammy. This guy is generational in his talent and drive to be the best plus he isn't even 30. I say he has 3 elite years left.

[Lssd2012]

AB is on another level than guys like ARob or Sammy. This guy is generational in his talent and drive to be the best plus he isn't even 30. I say he has 3 elite years left.

I mean so was Larry Fitzgerald 4 years ago and hes been a backend WR1 for most of his 30s.

[Tsunami]

As we are seeing with Hopkins / ARob / Sammy, QB is a HUGE factor for sustained success in the league. If / when Roth retires next year and they are unable to get an average QB, then I fully expect Brown to drop to back end WR1 or high end WR2 levels. We've already seen how ineffective brown is with Landry Jones lol

I think there are special cases like Kaepernick, 2016 Osweiler, and Tim Tebow that would ruin any WR. But Hopkins was fine with Hoyer, Mallett, Yates, Weeden, Savage, Fitzpatrick, Keenum, and Schaub. I don't think QB is as much of a factor as you think. The difference between Luck and Hasselbeck for T.Y. Hilton was 1400+6 vs 1100+5, which might not be as "elite" but is still pretty good.

Steve Smith Sr. was playing at a very high level until age 35 or later. It's unlikely Antonio lasts that long but it could happen. I'd say it's more likely that Julio, Green, Dez, or DT stick around, but who expected Calvin Johnson to retire? It depends on more than just age, they have to want it. If Ben retires Antonio might just go with him, or they could both be around 8 seasons from now, who knows?

Fitzgerald, Jordy Nelson, and Brandon Marshall are all 33 and still going strong (as far as we know) but Vincent Jackson is 34 and Roddy White is 35 and they've been done for a few seasons now. So I think you've got a good chance for 3 seasons out of Antonio, plus or minus 2.

And if Martavis Bryant is any good, Antonio might not be a WR1 this year either.