The Pittsburgh Steelers lose big on the inevitable Antonio Brown trade.
Those Steelers will get back a third and fifth round pick after shipping Brown to the Oakland Raiders. Not a first-round pick. Not worthwhile players. Two middling picks.
This wouldn’t be too bad — but context matters. A year ago, the Raiders sent a third-round pick to the Steelers for Martavis Bryant. This year, they tacked on a fifth and got a top-three player in his prime.
The Steelers, by the way, are also losing star running back Le’Veon Bell to free agency. And losing Brown will cost $21.12 million in dead cap this year.
For the Raiders, the idea of this trade was too good to pass up at this price. They shipped away Amari Cooper for a first-round pick, keep that pick and still get Brown, who is slightly more expensive financially but even better.
If there is a silver lining for the Steelers, they are superb consistently at finding wideouts in the draft. This doesn’t mean they’ll find another Brown, but their track record is superb.
In a way though, the Cincinnati Bengals clearly aren’t the only AFC North team starting over in many ways this offseason.
