Former Bengals DC Paul Guenther played a role in the Antonio Brown-Raiders trade

The trade sending Antonio Brown from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Oakland Raiders had an assist from a former Cincinnati Bengals coach.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, former Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther threw his opinion into the decision before the Raiders executed the trade:

Couple Raiders-related notes on trade:

*Asked source close to Brown what intrigued him about Raiders: 'Coach Gruden and Derek Carr,' also cited system, draft capital, good young players
*DC Paul Guenther, who battled Brown for years as Bengals DC, strongly endorsed Brown's game

— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 10, 2019

The result was the Raiders bringing aboard Brown and getting him a massive new contract, while the Steelers only got back a third and fifth-round pick in the process.

Guenther started his Bengals tenure in 2005 and worked his way up to defensive coordinator in 2014, leaving last offseason to coach under Jon Gruden in Oakland.

A funny wrinkle here? The new-look Bengals might look to part ways with Vontaze Burfict, who excelled under Guenther in Cincinnati. Burfict and Brown on the same team given their history would be…quite interesting.