The New England Patriots are out of the running for the Antonio Brown sweepstakes. Realistically, they were never in the running at all.
The Pittsburgh Steelers decided that, as they weigh trade options for the talented wideout, they will not consider the Patriots or any of the other teams in the AFC North, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
New England will likely be in the market to acquire talent at receiver. Julian Edelman is the only receiver on the active roster from 2018 who is set to return in 2019. The rest of the receivers (Josh Gordon, Chris Hogan, Cordarrelle Patterson, Phillip Dorsett) are set to enter free agency. To further complicate the issue, tight end Rob Gronkowski is considering retirement, and Dwayne Allen’s contract makes him a potential cap casualty. With all that potential turnover, Brown would make sense for New England — at the right price.
But with Pittsburgh and New England being bitter rivals dating back to the beginning of the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era, it makes sense that the Steelers wouldn’t want to do anything to help the Patriots.
