What to make of the AB situation?

[PPE82]

Antonio Brown reportedly skipped practice all week and was benched for week 17. Now not answering Steelers calls.

Thoughts?

[Bot101]

Hes a 21 mil cap hit in 2019 if hes cut or traded. So, really nothing to make of it. Just a diva being a diva.

[ArrylT]

I've been waiting for someone to bring this up in discussion.

I do not know enough about the specifics of the situation - other than the perception does not look to be good for Antonio Brown right now. However he has had past 'grievances' with the Steelers yet continued to be 'money' on the field - so by next season it could be water under the bridge.

I will note that while the Steelers did win this week without Bell (obviously) or Brown - they did not make the playoffs without them ... so perhaps the Steelers problems go well beyond anyone blaming those 2 players for not being 'team players'.

[Friction]

Tough to say, but you think it may be a similar end result to what happens with Fournette; they part ways. Brown is still at the top of his game, even if it did not quite feel like it this year (compared to other years). Wrs have been diva-ish for decades now, but with social media/internet, it gets worse and thrown in our face more. Everyone is going nuts over his little Twitter exchange with Kittle and Sherman. I do think there is a really good chance he ends up somewhere else next year. There was a lot of drama this year.

[Friction]

Hes a 21 mil cap hit in 2019 if hes cut or traded. So, really nothing to make of it. Just a diva being a diva.

Well, that makes things a little more difficult. I was not aware of that as I do not pay a ton of attention to the cap and salaries. Definitely throws a monkey wrench into things.

[Bot101]

Hes a 21 mil cap hit in 2019 if hes cut or traded. So, really nothing to make of it. Just a diva being a diva.

Well, that makes things a little more difficult. I was not aware of that as I do not pay a ton of attention to the cap and salaries. Definitely throws a monkey wrench into things.

Yeah its mostly just what happened on Twitter last night. Kittle made a tweet towards AB, AB responded, Sherman retweeted, Steeler fans lost their minds and Niner fans took their pants off.

[Jigga94]

I know this is probably a pointless question considering AB will probably be back next year... IF AB left, that would surely hurt JuJus production right? I'm not saying he would be un-startable, but rather he would probably be drawing double coverage a lot more often.

[pvillebiker]

I've had a growing suspicion all season long that AB's jealousy of JuJu is a deal breaker kinda thing for him. It would explain the growing rift between Antonio & Ben. If you haven't seen today's scoop, it was Ben whom Antonio had a problem with (threw a football at him in practice) that led to his sitting week 17.

Can't imagine an ailing QB who almost retired already would come back again w/o Antonio. No way in hell they're better next year w/o him.

[Vcize]

I know this is probably a pointless question considering AB will probably be back next year... IF AB left, that would surely hurt JuJus production right? I'm not saying he would be un-startable, but rather he would probably be drawing double coverage a lot more often.

Not much of a sample size to go on but in the 3 games AB has missed over the last two years JuJu has gone...

6-75-1
9-143-1
5-37-1

[Cameron Giles]

Hes a 21 mil cap hit in 2019 if hes cut or traded. So, really nothing to make of it. Just a diva being a diva.

Well, this only means that if a team with a ton of cap space thought he was worth it, then they could make a move with Pittsburgh. The Jets for example have a ton of cap space and are desperate for playmakers.

[Jigga94]

I know this is probably a pointless question considering AB will probably be back next year... IF AB left, that would surely hurt JuJus production right? I'm not saying he would be un-startable, but rather he would probably be drawing double coverage a lot more often.

Not much of a sample size to go on but in the 3 games AB has missed over the last two years JuJu has gone...

6-75-1
9-143-1
5-37-1

Nice thanks. I think he honestly remains a WR1. The added volume should offset the extra attention. However if Ben is gone...

[ajf235]

How would you guys rank AB Julio and Odell next year?

I’m thinking 1-Julio, 2-AB, 3-Odell

Though I think I’d prefer Hopkins and Davante Adams to all of them.

[Cameron Giles]

https://twitter.com/JasonLaCanfora/stat ... 3385150464

Brown has asked for a trade. Apparently has problems with Tomlin and BB.

[Vcize]

Hes a 21 mil cap hit in 2019 if hes cut or traded. So, really nothing to make of it. Just a diva being a diva.

Well, this only means that if a team with a ton of cap space thought he was worth it, then they could make a move with Pittsburgh. The Jets for example have a ton of cap space and are desperate for playmakers.

How does the cap hit work? I thought it went to the team trading the player away. So the cap space of the team receiving AB would be a non-issue. The problem is AB counts $21m against Pitt's cap if they trade him away, versus $22m against Pitt's cap if they keep him. So they have no incentive to move him unless they're getting something REALLY good back, which seems unlikely.

[Pullo Vision]

Hes a 21 mil cap hit in 2019 if hes cut or traded. So, really nothing to make of it. Just a diva being a diva.

Well, this only means that if a team with a ton of cap space thought he was worth it, then they could make a move with Pittsburgh. The Jets for example have a ton of cap space and are desperate for playmakers.

As I understand it, the 21 mil hits Pittsburgh's cap whether he's on the roster or not.

According to overthecap, the 2019 cap hits to the Steelers for these options-
Cut now- 21.120 mil cap charge
Designate as a post June 1 cut- 7 mil cap charge (doesn't speak to the impact on future years)
Trade- 21.120 mil