We’re probably going to have to wait at least seven more weeks to find out if Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown will be part of the 2019 team but in the meantime, several teammates of his are making it known that they’re hoping he remains with the organization for several years to come.
On Wednesday, Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey talked while at the Pro Bowl about Brown’s current standing with the team and how he thinks the wide receiver will eventually be able to reconcile his differences with not only quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, but the organization as well. On Thursday, another Steelers team leader currently preparing to play in this year’s Pro Bowl, defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, was once again asked his thoughts on Brown’s current standing with the team.
“I think we all want AB here, but we want AB to be a part of this,” Heyward told Missi Matthews of steelers.com. “We want him to want to be a part of this and that’s all we can ask for. He’s a heck of a player, a special talent, a Hall of Fame talent and we’re all striving to get one thing, a Super Bowl. And we just look forward to hoping he wants to be a part of this. We know it wasn’t ideal last year, but you learn from mistakes on both sides and just continue to be better people.”
At this point, you would probably be hard-pressed to find any current Steelers player who wouldn’t want Brown to remain with the team moving forward as the unit would obviously be much better on the field with him than without him. Deep down inside you also have to think that both Brown and the Steelers front office want to be able to eventually work things out instead of going through a divorce this offseason.
For whatever it’s worth, Brown posted another cryptic message on his social media accounts Thursday morning that read: “Open for business.” That message came on the heels of him posting a Tuesday picture of himself with a blonde mustache while apparently vacationing in the Turks and Caicos Islands. I’m not even going to attempt to try to interpret what Brown’s Thursday morning message means.
The start of the 2019 new league year is still seven weeks away and that’s plenty of time for Brown to workout whatever differences or hard feelings he might still have with teammates as well as the Steelers organization. While thers probably a decent chance that a few other teams have already called the Steelers inquiring about possibly trading for Brown, it’s hard to imagine that the organization has reached a point where dealing the wide receiver is inevitable.
After Steelers players at this year’s Pro Bowl and those who are scheduled to make media appearances at this year’s Super Bowl are finished being asked to comment on Brown’s situation, perhaps the news cycle related to wide receiver will slow down considerably. In the meantime, however, expect every Steelers player who is asked about Brown to all say the same thing and that’s that they hope to continue to be his teammate for several seasons to come.
“I love the guy, I think the world of the guy, I love his competitiveness, and I love that he strives to be the No. 1 receiver,” Heyward said of Brown. “I’m not saying I’m perfect. I’ve been a jerk, I’ve done plenty of stupid things, but I just think I would love to have him on our team. That’s all I can ask for and now the ball’s in his court. And I just look forward to competing with a bunch of guys that are contending for a Super Bowl.”
