Antonio Brown is finally telling his side of the story. Continuing his Q&A with fans on Twitter, after taking some shots at Ben Roethlisberger earlier, Brown has directed his attention to Mike Tomlin and what happened before the regular season finale versus the Cincinnati Bengals.
According to Brown, Tomlin – in his eyes, falsely – told the locker room AB quit on the team. Brown seems to stand by the original story, hampered by a knee injury that caused him to miss the game.
Tomlin explained what happened from his point of view in his end-of-year press conference. He said Brown complained of knee soreness, missed practice, and was sent for an MRI on his knee. That MRI never happened. Brown stopped returning the Steelers’ calls, went MIA, until agent Drew Rosenhaus called Tomlin on Sunday, claiming Brown was healthy enough to play. Tomlin said the decision had been made to sit him but invited Brown to come to the stadium, which Brown did, before leaving at halftime.
That was the last time the two sides communicated, aside from the assumed trade request Brown’s camp recently sent to the Steelers. Owner Art Rooney II is expected to meet with AB next week.
Brown, right or wrong, is clearly hurt by the characterization that he “quit” on the team, though it seems pretty clear that’s what happened. And why he wants a fresh start somewhere else. He’s likely to get his wish, maybe exactly a month from now, considering his $2.5 million roster bonus is due March 17th.
