2019 NFL Season

[WVRed]

It won't make the Steelers better in the short run. I don't expect them to collapse without Brown, but he will be hard to replace, and they have a 21 million dollar salary cap hit this year - which is probably the reason they traded away a starting offensive lineman.

With the Steelers, it’s next man up. We’ve seen this time and time again.

Before AB, it was Mike Wallace.

Before Mike Wallace, it was Hines Ward

Before Hines Ward, it was Santonio Holmes, then Plaxico Burress.

The only mainstay has been Roethlisberger.

Running back is the same way. All the way back to Bettis and further back to Franco Harris.

[puca]

With the Steelers, it’s next man up. We’ve seen this time and time again.

Before AB, it was Mike Wallace.

Before Mike Wallace, it was Hines Ward

Before Hines Ward, it was Santonio Holmes, then Plaxico Burress.

The only mainstay has been Roethlisberger.

Running back is the same way. All the way back to Bettis and further back to Franco Harris.

And the ones that moved on while in their prime saw a significant drop off in production. That's why I would have never made AB the highest paid receiver, nor would I sign Bell to big money.

That said, I'd give as much credit to the Steeler offensive line, as I would to Roethlisberger, but there is no doubt that Ben makes the offense go. It makes you wonder if Brown or Bell had been drafted by another other franchise whether they would have become stars. The Steeler's big mistake was extending Antonio.

[puca]

There is zero chance AB would agree to any type of deal with a conduct detrimental to the team type of clause. Oakland is gambling on his behavior for his talent. This is Grudens mess to clean up if it goes south.

No doubt that is true. I'm guessing things will be cozy for at least half of the season. If the Raiders aren't winning and Brown is not leading the league in touches it might not last though. He seemed only to become unhappy in Pittsburgh when JuJu got the spotlight. After all he signed his contract extension not that long ago.

[Kingspoint]

https://www.rotoworld.com/football/nfl/player-news

Busy day in the NFL. Dozens of signings and movement. Many positions paying their highest guaranteed money ever. Too many to post here. And, Free Agency hasn't even begun, yet.

[Chip R]

Hopefully Oakland got some sort of behavior clause built into the contract. AB has shown that if he isn't happy he will do whatever it takes to force is way out. What I find most interesting is that obviously signing a new contract was part of the deal, so in essence he was able to pocket all of the signing bonus money that Pittsburgh gave him without completing the contract. I know if AB had retired, an arbitrator could have been involved and forced him to return some of the signing bonus, but since he was traded there probably is no recourse. It is interesting through since AB pretty much forced his way out of Pittsburgh and apparently made the trade contingent on getting a new contract. If I were the Steelers, I would look into it for sure.

A part of me thinks that the bad behavior was all a work by AB. He engages in crazy behavior even though before this season there was no evidence of it. Most WRs are divas but AB took it to a whole other level. The last straw had to have been skipping practice before the Bengals game. He had to know that his teammates would turn on him after that. He knew there was no way he'd be back after that. Now he's in OAK with a new deal just like he wanted. If he hadn't pulled what he pulled there's no way PIT would have traded him. If it was a work, he's going to be as good as gold from now on.

[WVRed]

Honey Badger to the Chiefs.

Add him to Eric Berry. Wow.

[SteelSD]

With the Steelers, it’s next man up. We’ve seen this time and time again.

Before AB, it was Mike Wallace.

Before Mike Wallace, it was Hines Ward

Before Hines Ward, it was Santonio Holmes, then Plaxico Burress.

Hines Ward -> Plaxico Burress -> Antwan Randle El -> Santonio Holmes -> Mike Wallace -> Antonio Brown + Emmanuel Sanders -> Martavis Bryant -> Juju Smith-Shuster

And the ones that moved on while in their prime saw a significant drop off in production. That's why I would have never made AB the highest paid receiver, nor would I sign Bell to big money.

That said, I'd give as much credit to the Steeler offensive line, as I would to Roethlisberger, but there is no doubt that Ben makes the offense go. It makes you wonder if Brown or Bell had been drafted by another other franchise whether they would have become stars. The Steeler's big mistake was extending Antonio.

Good take, puca. But IMHO, the biggest mistake the Steelers made was not signing Bell to a guaranteed-money extension. Now, that's a catch-22 because I don't believe Bell would have been worth Todd Gurley money long term (I don't even think Gurley is worth that). But I have little doubt that Bell's season-long holdout taught Antonio Brown a lesson- that if he just put his proverbial foot down and acted like a cancer, he'd be able to free himself from the non-guaranteed contract situation he found himself in. Now, did Brown turn crazy? Yeah, I think he's been a bit "off" for a while now; growing more and more infatuated with his fame and less and less careful how he showed it. And it wasn't just Facebook live from the locker room, separating himself from the team, being late to and/or missing meetings, and acting the jerk when another player (Smith-Shuster) began getting attention.

It leaked onto the field. It, and a number of Gatorade coolers had already spilled onto the sideline. From watching games closely, I wondered all last season if there was something wrong. Brown, usually a precise route runner, began breaking off his routes early and improvising. There were interceptions thrown because Brown was not in his usual right place at his usual right time. Others were caused by Brown not fighting for the ball in traffic. It became pretty clear that he no longer wanted to go over the middle of the field as the season wore on. Roethisberger, who certainly did the Steelers no favors by calling out Brown publicly, was correct in his criticism. And I think that's all Brown was looking for- an excuse that would allow him to paint others as villains while quitting on his team. But frankly, he'd sorta' quit on them a long time before that and other players knew it. His quarterback knew it. Management knew it.

Two other mistakes the Steelers made were 1) Letting Brown show up to the final game this year and 2) Art Rooney II visiting Brown in Florida early this offseason. I'm not sure why anyone thought Brown would be respectful at that game and, in character, he wasn't- walking to the sidelines in a fur coat and leaving at halftime. And by visiting Brown, Rooney added the air of legitimacy to his grievances. That played poorly and further emboldened Brown.

Yet, I'm not sure why the national media is complaining that the Steelers got swindled by the largely inept Raiders. Yes, they only got a third and fifth round pick. Let's say, for the sake of argument that Brown was just putting on an act with his yellow mustache, "Mr. Big Chest" routine, and pulling the victim card while playing the fool. Yes, that all shrunk the market, but so did his new team having to shell out over 30M in guaranteed money. A lot of comparisons have been made to the Amari Cooper deal; with the Raiders getting a first round pick. But Cooper was accompanied by less than half Brown's now-guaranteed contract. While not historically as prolific as Brown, Cooper (24 years old last season) is also not at an age where a receiver might just start the decent toward a rocky performance cliff.

Again, the take above assumes that Antonio Brown isn't crazy. If he is, good luck Gruden and be careful what you wish (or trade) for because if the Raiders stink this year, "Mr. Big Chest" will be "Mr. Big Pain-in-Your-Rear" instead.

[Sea Ray]

It can be both...that the Steelers and the Raiders made a bad deal. But I don't think the Steelers had a better offer. The fact is no one wanted to offer much for this cancer and the Steelers were up against a deadline. Given the situation, this is the best they could do

[puca]

It can be both...that the Steelers and the Raiders made a bad deal. But I don't think the Steelers had a better offer. The fact is no one wanted to offer much for this cancer and the Steelers were up against a deadline. Given the situation, this is the best they could do

I agree with you that this is the best offer on the table for the Steelers primarily because AB was not only demanding a trade, he was insisting on getting a new contract as part of the deal. He also thinned out potential suitors by playing the 'retirement' card. He simultaneously held the Steelers hostage as well as any team thinking of trading for him. Good for him I guess, but as an owner it would make me weary about handing out large signing bonuses in the future.

[Slyder]

I agree with you that this is the best offer on the table for the Steelers primarily because AB was not only demanding a trade, he was insisting on getting a new contract as part of the deal. He also thinned out potential suitors by playing the 'retirement' card. He simultaneously held the Steelers hostage as well as any team thinking of trading for him. Good for him I guess, but as an owner it would make me weary about handing out large signing bonuses in the future.

I'm just glad it didn't add years. I think if Al was still calling the shots AB would become one of those contracts like Richard Seymour where we're paying him more to NOT play football than the starting defense gets paid and we would have probably given up at least the Bears pick (if not our own). 3 years with the June 1st cut at least minimalizes the damage if this goes south for Oakland. I'm just glad they didn't have to give up one of the first 4 picks. We can move back from either the Bears or Cowboys picks into round 2 if someone values that 5th year option and probably pick up at least one of those picks back.

[puca]

Hines Ward -> Plaxico Burress -> Antwan Randle El -> Santonio Holmes -> Mike Wallace -> Antonio Brown + Emmanuel Sanders -> Martavis Bryant -> Juju Smith-Shuster



Good take, puca. But IMHO, the biggest mistake the Steelers made was not signing Bell to a guaranteed-money extension. Now, that's a catch-22 because I don't believe Bell would have been worth Todd Gurley money long term (I don't even think Gurley is worth that). But I have little doubt that Bell's season-long holdout taught Antonio Brown a lesson- that if he just put his proverbial foot down and acted like a cancer, he'd be able to free himself from the non-guaranteed contract situation he found himself in. Now, did Brown turn crazy? Yeah, I think he's been a bit "off" for a while now; growing more and more infatuated with his fame and less and less careful how he showed it. And it wasn't just Facebook live from the locker room, separating himself from the team, being late to and/or missing meetings, and acting the jerk when another player (Smith-Shuster) began getting attention.

It leaked onto the field. It, and a number of Gatorade coolers had already spilled onto the sideline. From watching games closely, I wondered all last season if there was something wrong. Brown, usually a precise route runner, began breaking off his routes early and improvising. There were interceptions thrown because Brown was not in his usual right place at his usual right time. Others were caused by Brown not fighting for the ball in traffic. It became pretty clear that he no longer wanted to go over the middle of the field as the season wore on. Roethisberger, who certainly did the Steelers no favors by calling out Brown publicly, was correct in his criticism. And I think that's all Brown was looking for- an excuse that would allow him to paint others as villains while quitting on his team. But frankly, he'd sorta' quit on them a long time before that and other players knew it. His quarterback knew it. Management knew it.

Two other mistakes the Steelers made were 1) Letting Brown show up to the final game this year and 2) Art Rooney II visiting Brown in Florida early this offseason. I'm not sure why anyone thought Brown would be respectful at that game and, in character, he wasn't- walking to the sidelines in a fur coat and leaving at halftime. And by visiting Brown, Rooney added the air of legitimacy to his grievances. That played poorly and further emboldened Brown.

Yet, I'm not sure why the national media is complaining that the Steelers got swindled by the largely inept Raiders. Yes, they only got a third and fifth round pick. Let's say, for the sake of argument that Brown was just putting on an act with his yellow mustache, "Mr. Big Chest" routine, and pulling the victim card while playing the fool. Yes, that all shrunk the market, but so did his new team having to shell out over 30M in guaranteed money. A lot of comparisons have been made to the Amari Cooper deal; with the Raiders getting a first round pick. But Cooper was accompanied by less than half Brown's now-guaranteed contract. While not historically as prolific as Brown, Cooper (24 years old last season) is also not at an age where a receiver might just start the decent toward a rocky performance cliff.

Again, the take above assumes that Antonio Brown isn't crazy. If he is, good luck Gruden and be careful what you wish (or trade) for because if the Raiders stink this year, "Mr. Big Chest" will be "Mr. Big Pain-in-Your-Rear" instead.

I would argue that they should have traded Bell when the could have instead of trying to franchise tag him a second time. He warned them not to do it and they did it anyhow. I doubt Bell is going to be worth whatever contract he signs. His stats were primarily based on how the Steelers (over) used him, his yards per touch were nothing spectacular. Not to mention he is one failed drug test away from a lengthy ban. But you are right, I think the AB saga is due in part to Bell.

The signing bonus they handed out to Antonio Brown was a mistake. He managed to pocket all of that money and still wiggle out of the contract, leaving the Steelers with a 21 million dollar salary cap hit in the process.

[SteelSD]

I would argue that they should have traded Bell when the could have instead of trying to franchise tag him a second time. He warned them not to do it and they did it anyhow. I doubt Bell is going to be worth whatever contract he signs. His stats were primarily based on how the Steelers (over) used him, his yards per touch were nothing spectacular. Not to mention he is one failed drug test away from a lengthy ban. But you are right, I think the AB saga is due in part to Bell.

The signing bonus they handed out to Antonio Brown was a mistake. He managed to pocket all of that money and still wiggle out of the contract, leaving the Steelers with a 21 million dollar salary cap hit in the process.

I don't disagree with any of that in theory. The problem is that the Steelers couldn't trade Bell without him signing his Franchise tender; something he was unwilling to do. As he wasn't signed to a long-term extension by the middle of last July, any team acquiring him after that date would only get the remainder of his 2019 contract had he signed the tender and couldn't negotiate a long-term deal until after the season. In this case, I believe the acquiring team would have needed to allow Bell to become a UFA (at least if I'm understanding the dates correctly).

Unfortunately, Bell was for all intent and purpose, worthless in the trade market.

[Chip R]

OBJ to CLE

https://es.pn/2XT8tIr

[Hillsdale87]

Just like with Hinkie and the Sixers, another guy is now getting credit with the Browns for the work that Sashi Brown did. Yes the Browns were terrible for a few years, but he left them so loaded with draft picks and cap space, and they now have probably a top 5 roster.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[puca]

I don't disagree with any of that in theory. The problem is that the Steelers couldn't trade Bell without him signing his Franchise tender; something he was unwilling to do. As he wasn't signed to a long-term extension by the middle of last July, any team acquiring him after that date would only get the remainder of his 2019 contract had he signed the tender and couldn't negotiate a long-term deal until after the season. In this case, I believe the acquiring team would have needed to allow Bell to become a UFA (at least if I'm understanding the dates correctly).

Unfortunately, Bell was for all intent and purpose, worthless in the trade market.

Which is why they should have dealt with him at the beginning of last calendar year and not waited until the July deadline. Whether they engaged with the contract extension too late or thought Bell would blink, they made a huge mistake letting the July deadline come without having him signed.