Antonio Brown wants out of Pittsburgh, and the Steelers are willing to accommodate him. But Brown's desire to join a contender may not be as easily met. The teams most interested in acquiring him are in need of a top receiver, but have significant problems elsewhere.
According to Adam Schefter, the primary contenders for Brown's services are the Titans, Raiders and Washington. The Titans went 9-7 a year ago, so there's that, but they're not necessarily better than the 3rd-best team in their own division, and they had one of the league's lesser passing games. The Raiders are godawful; will they contend while Brown is still a difference-making receiver? Washington recently talked seriously about having faith in Colt McCoy as its starting quarterback.
Brown's under contract, so he doesn't have a lot of recourse if Pittsburgh trades him somewhere he doesn't want to go. He could refuse to report and incur a lot of fines, I suppose.
One thing is clear: the teams pursuing him most have the greatest need for a difference-making wideout. The Titans have Corey Davis, but the Raiders just traded away their best wideout last season in Amari Cooper, while Washington has struggled with injuries and underperformance at the position.
Brown scored 15 TDs last year. The three teams that threw the fewest touchdowns to wide receivers in 2018? Oakland, Washington and Tennessee. Pittsburgh was 3rd.
TOUCHDOWN PASSES TO WIDE RECEIVERS, 2018 | ||
---|---|---|
Team | PTD | WR |
Seattle | 35 | 26 |
Kansas City | 50 | 25 |
Atlanta | 36 | 24 |
Minnesota | 30 | 24 |
Pittsburgh | 35 | 24 |
Tampa Bay | 36 | 24 |
LA Chargers | 32 | 22 |
New Orleans | 33 | 22 |
Cincinnati | 27 | 21 |
Green Bay | 25 | 20 |
Houston | 26 | 20 |
LA Rams | 32 | 18 |
New England | 29 | 18 |
Cleveland | 29 | 16 |
Detroit | 22 | 16 |
Miami | 26 | 16 |
San Francisco | 26 | 16 |
Dallas | 22 | 15 |
Indianapolis | 39 | 15 |
Carolina | 28 | 14 |
Chicago | 28 | 14 |
Denver | 19 | 14 |
NY Giants | 23 | 13 |
Philadelphia | 29 | 13 |
Buffalo | 13 | 11 |
NY Jets | 18 | 11 |
Arizona | 14 | 10 |
Baltimore | 18 | 10 |
Jacksonville | 15 | 9 |
Oakland | 19 | 9 |
Washington | 16 | 8 |
Tennessee | 16 | 7 |
--Andy Richardson