REPORT: Steelers trading Antonio Brown to Bills! - Per Ian Rapoport (Hold up....maybe, maybe not....) EDIT: DEAL NOT HAPPENING PER BRANDON BEANE - UPDATE: Traded to Raiders

[papazoid]

it's a 2 step process

 

first agree with steelers

 

then second, agree on a new deal with AB or he's not reporting

[rodneykm]

I'm excited we are exploring these types of deals. 

[PromoTheRobot]

40 minutes ago, The Jokeman said:

The Steelers would never trade AB to the Patriots, there were reports of that early on when was talk he'd be moved. I'm guessing he goes to San Francisco or Oakland/Las Vegas. 

 

Andrew Philliponi, ex-WGR, now on a PGH station, speaking with Howard and Jeremy now, says AB's goal is to get an outright release from the Steelers. He wants to pick his next team and negotiate for his best deal. Can't do that via trade.

[BillsFan17]

1 minute ago, Ol Dirty B said:

 

I mean as a bills fan I'm disappointed... I was excited hoping he'd land here. I didn't expect it at all, then it seemed possible. 

 

I'm not gonna walk around fuming about it all day... I see a trend in these posts... also what's with the caps?

This is a black eye on the organization to get dragged through the mud like this. Dont have to walk around fuming but there should be some anger.

[GunnerBill]

1 minute ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

 

 

I think Ross is right. But I'm not convinced Brown's not liking Buffalo was entirely about on field factors.... maybe I'm wrong.

[PetermansRedemption]

Just now, Wayne Cubed said:

 

Fingers crossed it's Redskins or Titans, who the Bills play. Preferably the Redskins who the Bills play at home.

Would LOVE it to be the Redskins. Have that “stud” QB Case Keenum throwing to him. 

[oldmanfan]

4 minutes ago, Trogdor said:

Oooo such edge. We are now a less desirable spot than Cleveland. Openly mocked by reporters and game day hosts. Your not really trying to discuss it, you are just ignoring the new low this team has hit. 

Why do you care what some idiot host says?  It is not a new low, they kicked the tires, they didn't like the deal, they didn't make the deal.  You are looking for any reason you can to bash a team you supposedly root for.  That is pathetic.

[Coach Tuesday]

Just now, GunnerBill said:

 

I think Ross is right. But I'm not convinced Brown's not liking Buffalo was entirely about on field factors.... maybe I'm wrong.

 

Youre not wrong.  Brown is a “brand” now.  Motivated by a combination of targets, attention, and brand value.  

[K-9]

15 minutes ago, CountDorkula said:

Um.

 

Two of the best players the Steelers had, quit on them.

 

I think there is more to this story.

 

 

I'm sure there is MUCH more to the story. 

 

I'm sure Ben R is the BIGGEST contributor to their discontent. 

 

It was THEIR decision and THEIR decision ONLY, to quit. On their teammates, coaches, and fans. 

[jkirchofer]

Antonio Brown is arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL. You want the best players on your team. You build cap space to be able to afford those players. But in a league where talent is the most important thing, McDermott and Beane opted to build a culture instead of a contender. Free agents, especially those wanting to win in the near future, are going to question the commitment of the Bills willingness to build a contender. That is what I got out of this. We have the money, we have the roster space, and we have one hell of a fan base, but for some reason, none of the top players want to play for the Bills.

[Bing Bong]

Neat

[YoloinOhio]

I had a feeling they were going to swing for the fences on trading for a proven WR. I don’t think this will be the last one we see them pursue. 

[K-9]

15 minutes ago, BringBackOrton said:

These grapes taste funny to anyone else?

I never wanted that loser here, so serve those grapes to somebody who gives a crap. 

[oldmanfan]

7 minutes ago, Ol Dirty B said:

 

Exactly, a=b, Bills don't get brown, he's embarrassed by them. B=C he's embarrassed by the by Bills and so forth you're embarrassed by him being embarrassed by the Bills. A=C...

Humans eat cows.  Cows eat grass. Therefore humans eat grass.

 

You're making the same false utilization of the transitive property.

[thurst44]

4 minutes ago, MrEpsYtown said:

I think we are getting a bit too crazy guys.

 

• Brown would have been the best offensive weapon the Bills have had in 20 years, with apologies to Shady. 
• Giving him a massive extension probably did not make sense, and that may be where Beane backed out. 
• The Bills showed aggression by going after him. This is a good thing. 
• We should not now say how he is old and he sucks because the trade did not happen. Some people were saying this from the beginning. This is the wrong take. Whether you hate him or love him, Brown is awesome and an explosive football player.  
• My gut tells me, that if the Steelers really struggle to move him, they could potentially circle back around. Probably unlikely, but you never know. 
• Brown certainly would have made the offense more potent and helped Josh Allen. At the same time, his presence had the potential to hinder Josh Allen's development because he would likely be pressured to feed Brown the ball. The E-P system is all about complimentary routes and combinations. That is why you see a Patriots guy have 12 catches one week and 2 the next. Who gets the ball is predicated on how the defense plays those combinations. Brady has mastered this, and reading the defense, and that is why the ball is out so quick. 
• Josh Allen is the star of this team and is the offensive weapon. We need to surround him with complimentary pieces, at the same time, Brown would have been fine here and the offensive would have been explosive.  
• Brown was a walk on at Central Michigan, a sixth round pick playing in Pittsburgh for years. I find it hard to believe he would simply refuse to go to Buffalo. All WR are divas and his blonde mustache is stupid, but this guy is a great football player and I think he would have fit in fine here. At the same time, he could have possibly been a cancer, but I doubt it. 
• Beane and McDermott want to win. The clean process stuff is overrated and over done. There are PED guys on the team, Shady has his shady side, Dawkins had an arrest and assault, Zay had his cray cray naked, drugged up thing goin on. They want football players who will buy into team and work their butts off. From all accounts, Brown works his ass off and loves playing football. 
• Big Ben is a giant rapist douche. He is the cancer, and Brown looks like an ass for calling him out because no one is getting his back. 

This is closest I've heard to what I agree with.  An elite WR around 30 would probably be the best value you're going to get to improve our WR corps and help Allen's development at this point, so I'm bummed about this. I'm also not going to give Brown as much of a pass (while still agreeing wholeheartedly to the first part of that last point about Ben) -- his standing up to Ben is not the problem, but taking oneself out of a game and some of the other stuff is (including IGing "fake news" during this process). 

 

Ultimately, this is one player and one incident and the only example of it we know of this off-season. Hopefully, this is a harbinger of the theme of this FA period in Beane's aggressiveness to pursue answers, but not in the outcome.

 

Now, I'm really going to get on with the day.  

[Ol Dirty B]

Just now, BillsFan17 said:

This is a black eye on the organization to get dragged through the mud like this. Dont have to walk around fuming but there should be some anger.

 

I mean yea, I'll root against him forever but I'm not gonna walk around being rude to people or whatever...

 

I'm not really sure what Joe in Winslows point was 

[oldmanfan]

1 minute ago, jkirchofer said:

Antonio Brown is arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL. You want the best players on your team. You build cap space to be able to afford those players. But in a league where talent is the most important thing, McDermott and Beane opted to build a culture instead of a contender. Free agents, especially those wanting to win in the near future, are going to question the commitment of the Bills willingness to build a contender. That is what I got out of this. We have the money, we have the roster space, and we have one hell of a fan base, but for some reason, none of the top players want to play for the Bills.

None of the top players want to play for the Bills.  Name the players they actively went after, the top players, that they made a serious effort to bring on that said no. 

 

The pity me, overreaction crap around here is crazy today.

[CountDorkula]

3 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

Why do you care what some idiot host says?  It is not a new low, they kicked the tires, they didn't like the deal, they didn't make the deal.  You are looking for any reason you can to bash a team you supposedly root for.  That is pathetic.

Im sorry, but I find this to be BS.

 

Several reporters are saying say deal was in place and Brown did not want to come.

 

Its strange how all teh buffalo beat reporters have all been told the Same thing. They went to the Bills for a statement and were told the bills walked away.

 

All the national guys are saying it was Brown not wanting to play for the Bills that nixed the trade.

[Wayne Cubed]

1 minute ago, YoloinOhio said:

I had a feeling they were going to swing for the fences on trading for a proven WR. I don’t think this will be the last one we see them pursue. 

 

This was the only way I thought they would have a chance at getting a proven WR, the trade bit.

[Ol Dirty B]

4 minutes ago, oldmanfan said:

Humans eat cows.  Cows eat grass. Therefore humans eat grass.

 

You're making the same false utilization of the transitive property.

 

You're showing you don't understand it again.

 

Why do people eat grass fed meat, free range, raised without steroids or growth hormones. Because they are ingesting what the animal ate before they ate it. I mean really...

 

I don't think you could have used a worse analogy to make your point. You don't get it, at all.

Edited March 8, 2019 by Ol Dirty B

[gordong]

Well, I guess brown now has two city’s that hate him...  lol.   Whatever...  next.

[mjt328]

27 minutes ago, JMF2006 said:

 

Very overrated unless you only have slow guys with no separation that can't catch the ball

 

Then guys like AB or OBJ mean everything to your QB no matter how much you dislike the circus that goes with them.

 

 

That's what I said. 

(As long as the QB is already in place) you just need guys that can get open and catch the ball.  That's it.

 

You don't need a Pro-Bowl superstar who needs to be the center of attention.

 

[PaattMaann]

5 minutes ago, jkirchofer said:

Antonio Brown is arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL. You want the best players on your team. You build cap space to be able to afford those players. But in a league where talent is the most important thing, McDermott and Beane opted to build a culture instead of a contender. Free agents, especially those wanting to win in the near future, are going to question the commitment of the Bills willingness to build a contender. That is what I got out of this. We have the money, we have the roster space, and we have one hell of a fan base, but for some reason, none of the top players want to play for the Bills.

 

if you believe the deal fell through because AB said he wouldnt play for the Bills 

 

no one knows why the deal didnt go through. We have Beane only saying publicly the deal didnt make sense for either side. There are lots of other rumors out there, including Brown refused to come to Buffalo, including the Bills couldnt get Brown to commit to coming to Buffalo (that could mean he wouldnt say one way or another).

 

There are a lot of players who want to / have come to Buffalo. There are lots of players who come here and LOVE IT and are very public about it. Im not worried about this one bit. When FA starts, money talks and we will hopefully land our offensive linemen, THATS what really matters on this team. 

[Rc2catch]

1 minute ago, jkirchofer said:

Antonio Brown is arguably the best wide receiver in the NFL. You want the best players on your team. You build cap space to be able to afford those players. But in a league where talent is the most important thing, McDermott and Beane opted to build a culture instead of a contender. Free agents, especially those wanting to win in the near future, are going to question the commitment of the Bills willingness to build a contender. That is what I got out of this. We have the money, we have the roster space, and we have one hell of a fan base, but for some reason, none of the top players want to play for the Bills.

Why would they though? We haven’t won in ages. Not considered contenders. Media ignores us. That isn’t good for ego players which many of the top players are. 

Gotta win in this league, especially for teams like buffalo. The casual fans don’t even know were in the league. I live in Tennessee and most titan fans are just casual, they see my bills hat and think it’s the college team. I was in shock when I moved here how many people have no clue of the bills being a professional team, and anytime I say I’m from New York they automatically assume nyc and have no clue where buffalo or Niagara Falls is. 

In the end though the bills need to win, you can’t be a losing team for 20 years and expect the national media to report on you and top players who want to come help turn the franchise into a contender 

[oldmanfan]

Just now, CountDorkula said:

Im sorry, but I find this to be BS.

 

Several reporters are saying say deal was in place and Brown did not want to come.

 

Its strange how all teh buffalo beat reporters have all been told the Same thing. They went to the Bills for a statement and were told the bills walked away.

 

All the national guys are saying it was Brown not wanting to play for the Bills that nixed the trade.

So what if he didn't want to come?  BFD.  He could have come to a team with a young, upcoming QB that would have made him the focus of the offense, and he said no?  That's his problem, not the Bills.

 

I agree with a statement above that he's trying to force his release so he can renegotiate with a team of his choice.

[BillsMafia13]

To everybody who toots the "why wouldnt good talent want to come to buffalo?" horn anymore may this moment be an example.  AB strong armed his way our of a TRADE.  This is a terrible look for us now.

[MAJBobby]

Until we have a respected WINNING team the Bills will have these players that do not want to play for a perennial losing team. 

 

That is just the nature of the game. 

 

Like Field of Dreams “If you build it they will come” 

 

now with that said seems like They are committed to building a winning offense. 

 

That and this move that the Bills wanted to make has to make people rethink what a Beane, McD guy consists of. 

Edited March 8, 2019 by MAJBobby

[oldmanfan]

1 minute ago, Ol Dirty B said:

 

You're showing you don't understand it more.

 

Why do people eat grass fed meat, free range, raised without steroids or growth hormones.

 

I don't think you could have used a worse analogy to make your point. You don't get it, at all.

You obviously have no understanding of the concept or of math so not much more to be said.

[CountDorkula]

Just now, mjt328 said:

 

That's what I said. 

(As long as the QB is already in place) you just need guys that can get open and catch the ball.  That's it.

 

You don't need a Pro-Bowl superstar who needs to be the center of attention.

 

Huh?

 

Brown for 5 years didn't make a peep.

 

The Seelers were humming and winning. All of the sudden something happens where two of the Steelers best players quit on the team.

 

Something else had to happen. 

 

 

[YoloinOhio]

Thank you, next 

Edited March 8, 2019 by YoloinOhio

[ExWNYer]

17 minutes ago, Ol Dirty B said:

 

 

I agree with the latter. I'm trying not to be rude, but I wonder what's going on with the first poster to make them feel like that. Eternal optimism, it's a good thing, I'm jealous. 

 

Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I didn't think there was anyway that the Bills would be in on AB and I wasn't initially thrilled with acquiring a 31 year old WR but I got caught up in the moment like a lot of other people and it would have been a good acquisition, depending on the compensation. It's not "eternal optimism", it's sports entertainment and it was exciting around here at a level that it hasn't been in quite some time. I can't control what the team does or doesn't do, I just hope that whatever they do turns out for the best like any fan would/should. If you don't or can't understand that then I'm not going to try to make you. Jealousy will do nothing but twist you up inside. It's a wasted emotion. I'm trying not to be rude, but I wonder what's going on with you to make you feel like you do...

[dubs]

So, without going through the entire 50+ pages, is this what happened?

 

bills and Steelers basically had an offer in place. Brown nixed it because, “he didn’t want to play in buffalo”, and is going to Cleveland instead?

 

How is this a bad look for the Bills or Buffalo?  Beane obviously is doing good things to make things happen. Brown looks bad here if anyone. 

 

Fans really need to grow up and stop being so thin skinned about this “Buffalo stigma”. Who cares if someone doesn’t want to live/play here. It’s not for everyone, but it’s a great place for many. 

[Ol Dirty B]

Just now, oldmanfan said:

You obviously have no understanding of the concept or of math so not much more to be said.

 

You used a bad analogy... don't shoot me, shoot the messenger... oh wait... maybe you can do it in your foot? Or did you do that a few posts ago?

[Bob in STL]

Glad this blew over.  I just see AB as a distraction.  His behavior in Pittsburgh should not be overlooked despite his talents. 

[34-78-83]

50 minutes ago, CountDorkula said:

This is what the bills want you to believe.

 

They want you to believe that they decided to not pursue, not that they were rejected.

false - Vic C is very critical of the team and has no ties to them or reason to make them look better, or make his sources appear to be wrong.

[nucci]

Just now, Bob in STL said:

Glad this blew over.  I just see AB as a distraction.  His behavior in Pittsburgh should not be overlooked despite his talents. 

up until this past season, his behavior was fine....he was the best WR in the league

[YoloinOhio]

 

[oldmanfan]

Just now, Ol Dirty B said:

 

You used a bad analogy... don't shoot me, shoot the messenger... oh wait... maybe you can do it in your foot? Or did you do that a few posts ago?

Keep looking dumb.  Fine by me.

 

To get back to the trade thing, we have a GM that took a look at the guy, they tried to work something out, apparently the player decided for whatever reason he doesn't want the trade.  BFD.  Move on.

 

If I'm the Steelers I hold him to his contract, and let him miss the next three seasons if he doesn't want to play.

[MAJBobby]

I would LOVE to know what the agreed on Compensation package. 

[Rock-A-Bye Beasley]

51 minutes ago, TheTruthHurts said:

I'll never believe that.

 

 Believe what? Why is it so unbelievable that they would give a new contract to a guy they just traded for? Same thing happened with LeSean McCoy