George Kittle lit up Twitter on New Year’s Eve when he fired off a simple tweet to then-disgruntled Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. Brown liked the tweet and responded, and the Brown-to-San Francisco rumors were underway.
It turns out the tweet wasn’t an actual overture to the receiver, who was eventually traded to Oakland for a third- and fifth-round pick. Kittle on Wednesday told reporters he sent the tweet after a dare from quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo.
Garoppolo was asked about the alleged dare during his press conference and would not confirm the validity of Kittle’s claim.
Brown made it known via social media that he would’ve welcomed a trade to San Francisco, and that probably would’ve been the case without Kittle’s tweet. Jerry Rice was in contact with Brown as well and helped move forward rumors of a potential Brown-49ers union via social media and a radio interview with 95.7 The Game in San Francisco.
It turns out the 49ers never really explored a trade for the receiver. General manager John Lynch said at the NFL owners meetings that any interest in Brown came with only a cursory glance.
Given Brown’s tumultuous exit from Pittsburgh and his very public social media tour during the offseason, it’s not a surprise that he didn’t interest the culture-driven 49ers’ front office.
It looked at first like Kittle’s tweet was a sign that Brown was a desired teammate in the 49ers’ locker room. Now it appears more like the Pro Bowl tight end was having fun on social media rather than trying to facilitate a trade.
