Antonio Brown helped make the Pittsburgh Steelers an offensive juggernaut for a brief period of time, along with his ‘Killer Bs’ cohorts, Ben Roethlisberger and Le’Veon Bell. During the mid-2010s, they had one of the most potent offenses and set franchise records. Driven by their quarterback, running back, and wide receiver, Brown hopes to meet them all again—in Canton.
“Football is just what I did. That’s not like, I live every day to think about my stats and think I’m better”, Brown said on The Pivot podcast. “That just was a time in my life. And hopefully for that time in my life, me, Big Ben, hopefully Le’Veon Bell, too, could make it to the Hall of Fame”.
The Steelers selected Antonio Brown in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft. They used their first-round pick on Ben Roethlisberger all the way back in 2004. Le’Veon Bell was the last to join, selected in the second round in 2013.
Between 2014 and 2017, the trio dominated, threatening to add Martavis Bryant to the Bs along the way. Brown did give him a shout-out. But while they had some playoff success, they never made it to the Super Bowl.
Roethlisberger had already won two for the Steelers before Brown arrived. They went back during Brown’s rookie season, only to lose. Bell only briefly appeared in a conference finals game in 2016 before exiting early due to injury.
After the 2017 season, Bell opted to sit out rather than sign a second franchise tag. Brown forced his way off the team via trade a year later. In 2019, Roethlisberger suffered a major elbow injury. While he still had some success after returning, he was never quite the same player. But the Steelers had some magic during that Killer Bs era.
Brown has had a mixed relationship with Roethlisberger, but he has tried to undo some of his criticisms in recent years. He has always had a close relationship with Bell, however, even recently walking out with him for a boxing match.
“L. Bell’s my brother, man”, Brown said on The Pivot. “He’s always been one of my close friends in my football career because he was always just committed to greatness. L. Bell, if I did an extra gasser, he was one-upping that gasser. We always [had] this intangible to always make yourself better and challenge each other. Le’Veon Bell [is] not just one of the running backs. I think he just loves one-on-one matchups, competitive spirit”.
As for the Hall of Fame, Ben Roethlisberger is an obvious lock, quite possibly on the first ballot. Antonio Brown is very likely to qualify as well, though he may have to wait a year or two. Le’Veon Bell was an incredible player in 2014-17, but the rest of his career didn’t amount to much.
Bell finished his career with 6,554 rushing yards on 1,595 carries with 42 touchdowns. He also caught 399 passes for 3,289 yards and 9 touchdowns. Even with nearly 10,000 yards from scrimmage and 51 touchdowns, that isn’t going to do it. Yes, like Brown and Roethlisberger, he was an elite at his position for a short period of time. But I don’t see the Hall of Fame committee ever viewing that time as so stunning as to overlook its brevity.
