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Antonio Brown possibly joining Miami Dolphins AFC East rival – Updated

By Matthew Stevens

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - DECEMBER 23: Antonio Brown #84 of the Pittsburgh Steelers reacts after a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during the second half at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on December 23, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - DECEMBER 23: Antonio Brown #84 of the Pittsburgh Steelers reacts after a touchdown against the New Orleans Saints during the second half at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on December 23, 2018 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images) /
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While the Miami Dolphins are on the verge of divesting themselves of talented, and high-priced players, it appears the an AFC East team is close to acquiring Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown.

As you can read below, Ian Rapoport  from the NFL Network is hearing that the Pittsburgh Steelers are closing in on a deal to trade the disgruntled Antonio Brown to the Bills. Giving the Miami Dolphins a tough receiver to cover in the AFC East.

If this trade is completed, the rival Bills, and QB Josh Allen in particular, just got a whole lot more dangerous.  Antonio Brown has averaged 114 catches, 1524 yards and 11 touchdowns over the last six years.  Obviously, the Bills can’t expect those type of numbers but they will get the best wideout this franchise has seen since the days of Andre Reed.

If Dolphins fans are looking for a potential ‘glimmer of hope’ it’s that Brown may not be willing to accept the trade to the rebuilding Bills.  Even the threat of retirement can have the Bills nixing this trade.  Also, it’s widely assumed that Brown will be seeking a new contract with the trade and that could be another potential headache going forward.  The final roadblock in this scenario is that Brown isn’t used to losing or having less than stellar quarterback play.  What will Brown do if the team is losing and/or Brown isn’t getting his 15-20 targets a game?

As for the Steelers, this deal meets the team’s self-imposed deadline of Friday to trade their disgruntled wide receiver and bring to a close the kind of melodrama not often seen by this historically well-run franchise.

UPDATE: Per Adam Schefter via Twitter – “Buffalo has spoken to Pittsburgh about a potential trade for WR Antonio Brown, as have a handful of other teams. Those talks occurred only in recent days. A source this morning called a Brown-to-Buffalo trade “unlikely.” Not out of the question but, at this time, ‘unlikely.’”

The Bills have since released a statement that they are moving on from the Brown situation. However this is the NFL and as we all know, things have a way of swinging back around.

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