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SI.com: Why Antonio Brown's Trade to the Bills Fell Through


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How the Bills’ talks went down help to illustrate that. Buffalo first inquired about Brown on Tuesday, and talks went in a positive direction between the two teams from there. Positive enough, in fact, that the Bills got permission to discuss the deal with Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus.
 

By early Friday morning, things had come undone. How? Two things had to come together for a deal to be done: the trade comp had to be agreed to—and I’m told the sides were in the ballpark on that—and the team acquiring the player has to make sure everything’s right with the player (a process that would eventually, for example, include a physical), and it wasn’t.

The Bills could have offered Brown more than Odell Beckham Jr. is getting in New York, as the NFL’s most richly compensated receiver, and maybe that would’ve convinced Brown to play there. They didn’t offer that, and the deal is now dead.

 

so it’s more about money than I thought. And I assumed the Bills were willing to pay him whatever he wanted, and they weren’t. So he refused to go... more than just about the team/city.

 

Just now, Reed83HOF said:

 

It's there - I posted it LOL

That thread is a dumpster fire now... couldn’t find anything 

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3 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

Merge if needed but I looked through the last few pages of the other giant thread and could find this article referenced but not posted 

https://www.si.com/nfl/2019/03/08/antonio-brown-steelers-bills-failed-trade-fallout

I just get the feeling that Brown is going to end up doing sit-ups in his driveway surrounded by reporters.  

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1 minute ago, YoloinOhio said:

 

 

That thread is a dumpster fire now... couldn’t find anything 

I was going to edit my response on here to say that. When you hit 80+ pages and honestly (it is the same crap be regurgitated) you can't find anything. It moves too fast

Just now, JoeF said:

I just get the feeling that Brown is going to end up doing sit-ups in his driveway surrounded by reporters.  

Was TO really this bad though?

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2 minutes ago, JoeF said:

I just get the feeling that Brown is going to end up doing sit-ups in his driveway surrounded by reporters.  



At a price of $500 per video. Somewhat relieved it fell through. He wants a serious pay increase. JA doesn't need this headache.

Edited by qwksilver
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Thanks Yolo, other thread is now a lost cause at that length.  

 

Basically what most of us with our head still attached to our shoulders thought.  It wasn't that AB wouldn't come here, it was the contract he was going to demand with whoever traded for him. 

 

Ultimately, AB is going to have to realize the market is not there for his wishes.  And he either has to suck it up and crawl back to Pitt, or accept he is a very well paid WR already and keep playing on his deal with a new team.  

 

This will be interesting to follow.  

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I’m kind of relieved that the situation wasn’t the Bills offering him the deal he wanted and him saying “nah, I’m good.” Not saying he had buffalo on top of his list but at least the Bills has standards too and weren’t groveling. 

 

And yeah, the Buffalo jokes were a bit much. I’m glad the real story is out there

Edited by YoloinOhio
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If we got AB for a 2nd and a 4th rd pick I could see the Steelers being happy with that. 

 

I wouldn’t rate any WR from this draft as a 1st rd pick so I can understand why Beanie would rather trade for a proven WR. AB on the other hand is a nut case and we already have one of those at the WR position in Zay Jones. I think we dodged a bullet here because I think AB would’ve destroyed team chemistry and I think we would’ve signed him to a large contract and only got 

minimum effort.

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I keep reading that the list of possible trade partners gets smaller and smaller the longer this drags on. AB is making it really difficult. He has a short list of teams he wants to go to and then beyond that he wants to be the highest paid receiver in football at 31 years old. Excellent player but at his age I think most any team is gonna take issue in making him the highest paid player at his position. And then of course there's all the baggage and BS he brings. But... you gotta assume that if the Bills were serious about acquiring him then, at this point, they must feel as though their locker room is strong enough to handle a guy like AB. That's a good thing. That was one of my mild concerns early on as they explained their plans on how they wanna build this team. High character, team-first guys, etc. etc. all that is well and good but I had always wondered if they'd talk themselves out of acquiring a player who had some issues. But this situation shows us that talent wins out at the end of the day. If you're that good, they'll deal with you. And ya never know, maybe he would've taken a liking to the guys on this team. McDermott doesn't run things like "my way or the highway, fall in line or GTFO" he really seems to preach family/brotherhood, accountability and playing for each other. AB doesn't really embody those qualities but again, the talent is elite and so teams will deal with the baggage. 

 

I've also heard that both teams had come to an agreement in principle over compensation and that Buffalo was ready to start talking money and contract terms with AB's agent (Drew Rosenhaus) but the news of the trade leaked out before they could engage in discussions with Rosenhaus and then AB just stamped his feet and said, "Baby Brown don't wanna play in no Buffalo!" and things fell right in the terlet.

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3 minutes ago, Alphadawg7 said:

Thanks Yolo, other thread is now a lost cause at that length.  

 

Basically what most of us with our head still attached to our shoulders thought.  It wasn't that AB wouldn't come here, it was the contract he was going to demand with whoever traded for him. 

 

Ultimately, AB is going to have to realize the market is not there for his wishes.  And he either has to suck it up and crawl back to Pitt, or accept he is a very well paid WR already and keep playing on his deal with a new team.  

 

This will be interesting to follow.  

 

I like that we took a swing and were smart enough to stick to our guns and not be foolish

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I'm angry that Beane actually enquired about AB... this is not the character type you want on this team. Quite miffed and I hope to find out it was all BS, and none of this is true. 

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2 minutes ago, YoloinOhio said:

I’m kind of relieved that the situation wasn’t the Bills offering him the deal he wanted and him saying “nah, I’m good.” Not saying he had buffalo on top of his list but at least the Bills has standards too and weren’t groveling. 

 

Yeah, this really reflects positively for Beane.  He again (not that he needed to) showed he is an aggressive GM focused on building a winner and will seriously look at all opportunities to do it.  At the same time, he isnt going to be stupid and make deals that aren't in the best interest of our future either.  

 

Funny, some people here still hate on Beane and McD.  Yet around the NFL McD is seen as one of the brightest and best young coaches in the NFL.  Beane is seen as a rising star as a GM as well.  For some reason, people on this board have this unrealistic view of them and spin many positives into negatives.  Media doesn't know squat about this team or regime, and its like they buy into that uninformed negative reporting thats rooted in 20 years of being irrelevant and not on the present.  

 

But, this is a big win for Beane both being willing to make a big move and also be prepared to walk away when it didn't align anymore with what they felt was best for the team.

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22 minutes ago, JoeF said:

I just get the feeling that Brown is going to end up doing sit-ups in his driveway surrounded by reporters.  

My ‘click bait’ laden newspaper’s ads tell me those sit-ups are bad for me.  Maybe I should wait and see what pill Brown eventually endorses?

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There's multiple reports saying everything from he wouldn't show up in Buffalo, to the Bills never got to the point of talking to Brown about what he wanted in a revised contract, to what he wanted was more than the Bills were willing to pay.  

 

What Brown is flirting with is he may only have until Sunday when teams start pre-spending their free agency money with Wednesday being the official.  He could be in a situation where a lot of teams have spent their money and there isn't enough room to take on his contract.  Whatever happened, he may have cost himself money or potentially trapped himself into the Steelers not trading him at all.  

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I think the way Brown looks at it if he is going to a team that is ready to compete he's take less money (none of them seem interested at this stage) he doesn't have to get top dollar. If he is going to a team rebuilding or about to rebuild (the Bills, Titans, Redskins and Raiders all fit into that category and you can make an argument that the Bills are furthest along) then he wants to be paid like the best receiver in the NFL. I don't think it is that unreasonable and from his perspective there is no urgency at this stage. The Steelers want a resolution so that they can put the whole charade to bed but any "deadline" is artificial. 

 

The Bills were clearly not willing to do what they did for Shady and put themselves on the hook for more money down the road and so talks broke down. 

 

I am not going to hate on Brown for his take on it this is a big decision about where he plays out his last years in the league. But equally I think the Bills set themselves sensible negotiating parameters. The frustrating thing is it leaking. If this had happened silently it is the kind of deal that often gets resurrected the closer the draft gets. The way it went down though I think that is a remote possibility happen now.  

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2 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

I think the way Brown looks at it if he is going to a team that is ready to compete he's take less money (none of them seem interested at this stage) he doesn't have to get top dollar. If he is going to a team rebuilding or about to rebuild (the Bills, Titans, Redskins and Raiders all fit into that category and you can make an argument that the Bills are furthest along) then he wants to be paid like the best receiver in the NFL. I don't think it is that unreasonable and from his perspective there is no urgency at this stage. The Steelers want a resolution so that they can put the whole charade to bed but any "deadline" is artificial. 

 

The Bills were clearly not willing to do what they did for Shady and put themselves on the hook for more money down the road and so talks broke down. 

 

I am not going to hate on Brown for his take on it this is a big decision about where he plays out his last years in the league. But equally I think the Bills set themselves sensible negotiating parameters. The frustrating thing is it leaking. If this had happened silently it is the kind of deal that often gets resurrected the closer the draft gets. The way it went down though I think that is a remote possibility happen now.  

At this stage of his career Brown has to thinking about the HOF and adding to his legacy - harder to do on a younger rebuilding team like ours. Shady lost all of last season here

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5 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

I think the way Brown looks at it if he is going to a team that is ready to compete he's take less money (none of them seem interested at this stage) he doesn't have to get top dollar. If he is going to a team rebuilding or about to rebuild (the Bills, Titans, Redskins and Raiders all fit into that category and you can make an argument that the Bills are furthest along) then he wants to be paid like the best receiver in the NFL. I don't think it is that unreasonable and from his perspective there is no urgency at this stage. The Steelers want a resolution so that they can put the whole charade to bed but any "deadline" is artificial. 

 

The Bills were clearly not willing to do what they did for Shady and put themselves on the hook for more money down the road and so talks broke down. 

 

I am not going to hate on Brown for his take on it this is a big decision about where he plays out his last years in the league. But equally I think the Bills set themselves sensible negotiating parameters. The frustrating thing is it leaking. If this had happened silently it is the kind of deal that often gets resurrected the closer the draft gets. The way it went down though I think that is a remote possibility happen now.  

 

I'm not convinced that it's based on whether the team is in rebuild mode or not. I think he'd happily go the the Giants or the Jets. I think he wants the money and a big market city. I do agree with you though that the deal may get resurrected. His agent can take him through the whole TO saga from a first hand experience and maybe he'll see that he's damaging his long term earning potential.

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18 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

I think the way Brown looks at it if he is going to a team that is ready to compete he's take less money (none of them seem interested at this stage) he doesn't have to get top dollar. If he is going to a team rebuilding or about to rebuild (the Bills, Titans, Redskins and Raiders all fit into that category and you can make an argument that the Bills are furthest along) then he wants to be paid like the best receiver in the NFL. I don't think it is that unreasonable and from his perspective there is no urgency at this stage. The Steelers want a resolution so that they can put the whole charade to bed but any "deadline" is artificial. 

 

The Bills were clearly not willing to do what they did for Shady and put themselves on the hook for more money down the road and so talks broke down. 

 

I am not going to hate on Brown for his take on it this is a big decision about where he plays out his last years in the league. But equally I think the Bills set themselves sensible negotiating parameters. The frustrating thing is it leaking. If this had happened silently it is the kind of deal that often gets resurrected the closer the draft gets. The way it went down though I think that is a remote possibility happen now.  

I have to think the Bills would be willing to make him the highest-paid WR on a 2- or 3-year deal. How could they justify to Rosenhaus not being willing to do that? But if he wants say a 5-year deal and the guarantees that go with that, then as badly as I want to see the Bills add that kind of talent, I can see why they'd balk.

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All things considered, would you rather have AB or JuJu?

 

I know who I’d prefer. It’s not the expensive old headcase who has trouble playing with other (despite his elite talent). 

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I love seeing huge egos get crushed.  AB got his panties in a wad because his teammates voted JuJu MVP- that says a lot.  AB has done all he can to sabotage any adequate compensation.  He is being childish, only agreeing to be traded to certain teams.  And then that team must tear up existing 3 year contract, and make AB highest paid player in NFL.  AB thinks he is calling shots.  He is not.  No team will overpay for him.  And his value is plummeting.  The Steelers are in a bind.  Most every team has withdrawn from trade talks.  March 13 is coming up.  Grab your popcorn.  And don't forget about the Le'veon show.  Last I saw Bell was campaigning to be an Eagle

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27 minutes ago, ddaryl said:

I'm angry that Beane actually enquired about AB... this is not the character type you want on this team. Quite miffed and I hope to find out it was all BS, and none of this is true. 

One of the positives about filling your locker room with players of good character. Something I think McBeane regime has done a good job at so far. It allows you to trade for a player like AB and steer them in the right direction in my humble opinion.

 

 

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35 minutes ago, MJS said:

Still seems like speculation to me. More likely Brown heard the word "Buffalo" and just said "no way, agent, find someone else."

How convenient.  It doesnt fit your predetermined narrative, therefore it's not true.  Amirite?

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1 minute ago, Augie said:

All things considered, would you rather have AB or JuJu?

 

I know who I’d prefer. It’s not the expensive old headcase who has trouble playing with other (despite his elite talent). 

He's a very selfish person,Aug.I give my respect to our Military members,our physicians,nurses,first responders,educators etc...not a fool like him.

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4 minutes ago, Magox said:

How convenient.  It doesnt fit your predetermined narrative, therefore it's not true.  Amirite?

 

No. You're not right. There's no reliable sources of information, so the information is not reliable and simply speculation.

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43 minutes ago, MJS said:

Still seems like speculation to me. More likely Brown heard the word "Buffalo" and just said "no way, agent, find someone else."

 

That's cut except credible sources saying the Bills weren't granted permission to talk to Brown's rep. 

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39 minutes ago, GunnerBill said:

The Bills were clearly not willing to do what they did for Shady and put themselves on the hook for more money down the road and so talks broke down. 

 

Shady wasn't a known team cancer, and he wasn't 31 when we made the trade. Down the road for this guy is 34 or 35 yrs old.

Edited by steven50
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I hope he gets "stuck" in Pittsburgh!  No offense to the Steelers, but if this were about money (and I know he wanted more guaranteed), he overplayed his hand because (as a previous poster said) Teams will be spending their FA dollars starting this weekend and he could be left out in the cold.  Here's hoping!

 

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1 hour ago, Alphadawg7 said:

Thanks Yolo, other thread is now a lost cause at that length.  

 

Basically what most of us with our head still attached to our shoulders thought.  It wasn't that AB wouldn't come here, it was the contract he was going to demand with whoever traded for him. 

 

Ultimately, AB is going to have to realize the market is not there for his wishes.  And he either has to suck it up and crawl back to Pitt, or accept he is a very well paid WR already and keep playing on his deal with a new team.  

 

This will be interesting to follow.  

Or he can make good on his threat and retire...

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