There are conflicting reports regarding the Packers’ interest in acquiring Steelers’ star receiver Antonio Brown, which has me looking like the thinking-man emoji face.
Shortly after reports of the Bills nearing a deal with the Steelers surfaced, ESPN’s Diana Russini tweeted the Packers were one of the teams in on the Brown sweepstakes and that the team was looking to make some deals. But on early Friday morning, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reported the Packers weren’t involved in the conversation and aren’t hopping into the mix now. A real roller coaster, this is.
Let’s ride it: At the highest level, Green Bay makes plenty of sense as a destination for Brown. The team has draft capital, salary cap space, a need to add a playmaker to line up opposite of Davante Adams, and a strong presence at quarterback who can handle Brown’s ridiculousness. But if the Packers are out, so be it. You won’t see any Bears fans shedding tears if he doesn’t end up in Wisconsin. And yet, we’ll continue to monitor the situation closely.
The dueling reports from ESPN reporters came after it turned out the Bills and Steelers weren’t all that close to making a deal that would send Brown to Buffalo after all.
This is all a bit murky: Late Thursday night, NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport tweeted that the Bills were nearing a deal to acquire Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. It was a surprise, to be sure, because Buffalo wasn’t one of the teams publicly linked in the Brown sweepstakes. But hey, it wasn’t a team in the NFC North or one that was on the Bears’ schedule in 2019!
Then the rebukes came in swiftly and strongly:
An NFL source says #Bills have inquired about Antonio Brown with the #Steelers, but no deal is imminent. In fact, another league source termed it "unlikely."
— Vic Carucci (@viccarucci) March 8, 2019
Another source on a potential Antonio Brown-to-Buffalo trade said it will not happen. “I don't think the Bills trade was ever close to happening,” said one source involved in those talks. Steelers snd Bills briefly talked but “this is an old story. It was dead on Wednesday.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 8, 2019
The Bills are nowhere close to trading for Antonio Brown. And the Broncos and Cardinals and Jets were never in it. Be careful what you read these days, folks. It gets more ridiculous by the day. Especially in some parts.
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) March 8, 2019
Ultimately, Bills GM Brandon Beane weighed in:
Bills’ GM Brandon Beane: “We inquired about Antonio Brown on Tuesday, and kept talks open with the Steelers. We had positive discussions, but ultimately it didn’t make sense for either side. As great a player as Antonio Brown is, we have moved on and our focus is on free agency.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 8, 2019
Essentially, we’re in the same place where we were about 24 hours ago because time is a flat circle.
So what was your favorite part of the Antonio Brown era in Buffalo?