Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles.
One app.

Start reading

Get all your news in one place.

100's of premium titles. One news app.

Start reading

USA Today Sports Media Group

Sport

Neal Coolong

Here are the best trade options the Steelers have for Antonio Brown

The Steelers are expected to trade wide receiver Antonio Brown in the very near future (by Friday, according to Adam Schefter), and likely no later than March 17, when he’s owed a $2.5 million roster bonus. Any team invested in a negotiation is going to try to get as much value back in a deal as they can, which might explain why reports on the extent of the Steelers’ ask varies from multiple first-round picks to anything just to move on from Brown and his sideshow of grievance-airings.

We polled the editors of the NFL Wire Network in an effort to glean some insight behind what a team might be willing to give the Steelers for Brown (and other compensation).

San Francisco 49ers

49ers get: Antonio Brown, Steelers’ 2019 5th-round pick
Steelers get: 49ers’ 2019 2nd-round pick (36 overall), 6th-round pick (177 overall)

It’s hard to imagine the 49ers giving up premium capital for Brown at the point. Head coach Kyle Shanahan doesn’t need elite talent at receiver to move the football, and Mr. Big Chest’s off-season social media storm surely hasn’t warmed the “culture-first” 49ers up to him. This would be a luxury move for San Francisco where they give up a pick they were likely going to use on a receiver anyway, and recoup a fifth-round pick they lost in the Laken Tomlinson trade in 2017. Brown would immediately be the 49ers’ No. 1 pass-catching option, and would be primed for the best season by a 49ers’ receiver since Terrell Owens donned red and gold. — Kyle Madson, Niners Wire

Oakland Raiders

Raiders get: Antonio Brown
Steelers get: 2019 first-round pick (No. 27 overall)

It would cap off a slew of moves made by the Raiders, presumably to either clear the roster to bring in more Gruden Grinders or to save money by not signing core players to extensions. Brown’s price tag isn’t high for a player capable of putting up league-leading catches, yards and touchdowns, and outside of his $2.5 million roster bonus due March 17, Brown has no guaranteed money in the final three years of his contract. From the Raiders’ perspective, having to guarantee contracts for three first-round draft picks, (4, 24 and 27) might be worth less than picking twice in the first round and adding Brown. — Neal Coolong, NFL Wire Network editor

Green Bay Packers

Packers get: Antonio Brown
Steelers get: 2019 first-round pick (No. 30 overall)

The Packers have two first-round picks, a need for a spark on offense, a future Hall of Fame quarterback and plenty of cap space, plus they aren’t in the AFC and won’t play the Steelers in the regular season until 2021. The Packers may not want to add a volatile talent into the locker room of a first-year head coach, and GM Brian Gutekunst needs both first-round picks to patch up his roster, but everything else fits for Antonio Brown and the Packers. Offering up the 30th overall pick could get it done. — Zach Kruse, Packers Wire

Tennessee Titans

Titans get: Antonio Brown
Steelers get: 2019 first-round draft pick (No. 19 overall)

The Tennessee Titans may be just one playmaker away from finally bringing their offense to the next level. Despite the potential off-the-field concerns Antonio Brown could bring, he could instantly give the team the boost it needs. There will be a price to pay for Brown that will most likely come in the form of a first-round draft pick, but the move could pay off to give Marcus Mariota another reliable weapon besides a rising Corey Davis and a veteran Delanie Walker. Brown also offers a special type of speed on the perimeter the Titans don’t necessarily have right now, and it’s important to have an explosive player like that on the roster. — Crissy Froyd, Titans Wire

New England Patriots

Patriots get: Antonio Brown
Steelers get: 2019 first-round draft pick (No. 32 overall)

The Patriots will have a hard time convincing the Steelers to deal Antonio Brown to New England, because of their rivalry. But let’s say the Patriots put the 32nd overall pick on the table (and maybe even include it in a package with another pick). What then? New England badly needs talent at receiver. The Steelers badly need to bail on their talented receiver. Perhaps the Patriots can turn Brown into Randy Moss 2.0. — Henry McKenna, Patriots Wire, For the Win

Indianapolis Colts

Colts receive: Antonio Brown, 2019 fourth-round pick
Steelers receive: 2019 2nd-round pick (No. 59 overall), QB Jacoby Brissett

With a massive need at wide receiver and all the resources in the world to pull the trade off, the Colts likely won’t part ways with their first two picks, but they do have an extra second-round pick to spare. The Steelers drafted Mason Rudolph in 2017 and have Josh Dobbs from the draft in 2016, but Brissett, who is intelligent, has a big arm and a full year of starting under his belt (2017), might be a better long-term option. The Colts get a mid-round compensation for Brissett while adding Brown to a wide receiver corps that already has his good friend in T.Y. Hilton, making their offense truly elite. — Kevin Hickey, Colts Wire