The leading receiver in the NFL over the last five seasons is available in a trade, and 28 teams have shown no interest at all.
That’s the flip side of Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert’s recent comments: Colbert said three teams have reached out to express interest in a trade for wide receiver Antonio Brown. Meaning 28 teams have not reached out.
Brown has 576 catches over the last five seasons, by far the most of any wide receiver in the NFL. What does it say about Brown that Steelers owner Art Rooney II declared on January 10 that the Steelers were like to trade Brown, and as of February 22 only three teams had even bothered to pick up the phone and call the Steelers to ask what it would cost to acquire him?
It says that teams think Brown is a problem in the locker room. It says that teams think Brown, who will turn 31 in July, isn’t going to be the same kind of player in his 30s he was in his 20s. It says that teams think Brown isn’t worth the $12.625 million base salary and $2.5 million roster bonus they’d have to pay if they traded for him.
Trades can’t become official until March 13, so there’s still time. And the Steelers could, if they’re willing to pay Brown his $2.5 million roster bonus, keep him around all offseason and trade him closer to the start of the season. Maybe some team will still decide to make a big offer. But it’s telling that 28 teams haven’t made any offer at all. Last year, the trade that sent Alex Smith from Kansas City to Washington was agreed to and publicly reported on January 30. When a team really wants a player who’s available in the trade market, that team will move quickly to get him. Teams aren’t moving quickly for Brown.