The Cincinnati Bengals have to be happy about the current happenings around the Pittsburgh Steelers and Antonio Brown. Late Thursday night and into Friday morning, a report broke suggesting the Steelers were working on sending Brown to the Buffalo Bills.
Great for the Bengals, as avoiding Brown twice a year in their most heated matchup was a plus.
But it all fell apart:
The Bills even released a statement confirming the talks and it not working out.
This is great news for the Bengals.
A Steelers-Bills Brown trade would have likely included first-round picks. The Bills hold the ninth pick, two spots in front of the Bengals. The Steelers presumably would have received that pick in a trade.
And one of the Steelers biggest needs this offseason? Inside linebacker.
Moving up to take someone like Devin White could have gone a long way toward the Steelers finally replacing the production lost by Ryan Shazier’s injury.
Instead of getting leapfrogged by the Steelers and seeing perhaps the top prospect on their board stolen, the Bengals still have a realistic shot at White at No. 11.
Sure, it means facing Brown twice a year again — but the draft consequences could make it all worth it.
