The Pittsburgh Steelers and Antonio Brown enjoyed a great deal of statistical success with each other, but the dropoff was steep. During a ridiculous stretch that spanned from 2013 to 2018, Brown was among the best players in the NFL, but off-the-field incidents were becoming a distraction. Despite the positive football impact that Brown brought to the team, everything else had become too much. Brown recently opened up about why his time in Pittsburgh came to an unceremonious end.
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Former Steelers' receiver Antonio Brown walks off the field during his final game for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Steelers And Brown Couldn't Win The Big One
The ultimate goal in the NFL is to be the last team standing with a Super Bowl trophy raised high. Brown chased that dream during his 8 years with the Steelers but never reached the mountain top. Even though the Steelers had the Killer B's at their disposal (Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell, and Brown), all they ever achieved was on the stat sheet.
⏪ Christmas Day, 2016
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Five years ago, Antonio Brown's game winning TD catch secured a playoff berth for the Steelers 👀🏈pic.twitter.com/dbUvApYnFm
Brown gave an interview on Cam Capone News where he revealed that Pittsburgh's inability to win a Super Bowl was a deciding factor in why he got traded. All the statistical victories meant little when the closest he ever got was the loss in Super Bowl XLV to the Green Bay Packers. It all became too much for Brown, and he knew he needed to be somewhere else.
"I just felt like, at some point in your career, you want to win a Super Bowl, and for me, I was just trying to put myself in the best scenario to accomplish that, and I did."
Brown was immediately pressed for more information on the trade and the state of the Steelers when he left. The former receiver was asked whether he left because a Super Bowl just wasn't going to happen with the Steelers.
"Yeah, it wasn't."
That is a direct condemnation of the squad that Brown left behind when the Steelers traded him to the then-Oakland Raiders. Brown went from the most valuable receiver in the NFL to being traded for a third and fifth-round draft pick. It simply became too much for the Steelers and not enough for Brown, culminating in a very sudden end to the polarizing relationship.
Associated Press / Don Wright
Antonio Brown points to the sideline during a game with the Pittsburgh Steelers
Steelers Were Forced Into Trade By Brown, And He Knew It
The Steelers tried their best to control Brown off the field so he could produce on the field, but things eventually broke down. Despite putting up impressive numbers during the 2018 campaign (104 catches, 1,297 yards, and a career-high 15 touchdowns), it would be the final season for Brown in Pittsburgh.
Brown knew that he held most of the cards, and he wanted to get the drop on the Steelers by getting to the media first. With a trade in mind, Brown wasted no time in putting out a highlight reel to grab the attention of potential suitors around the league. It ended up peaking the interest of the Raiders, who ended up getting Brown for practically nothing. Brown admitted in the Cam Capone interview that it was all according to the plan.
"I kinda forced their hand in that I made them do it. I kinda dropped a highlight end of the year with my highlights and was like, 'Yo, thank you fans for everything!' So, I kinda beat the team publicly in regards of getting to the media at the end of the season."
Brown got what he wanted by being traded to the Raiders, but apparently, the grass was not even close to being greener. Before he played a single snap for the Raiders, Brown decided that the culture wasn't championship caliber and wanted out again. Brown forfeited a $30 million guaranteed by getting himself released soon after getting to the Raiders, but he got his wish.
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Antonio Brown was considered the best receiver in the NFL from 2013-2018
The receiver who was once considered the best at he did never get back to those eye-popping numbers, but he did accomplish one thing he desired. Brown was a member of the 2021 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. Brown joined the Buccaneers for the 2020 season after spending almost all of the 2019 season out of football. Even though he eventually got the Super Bowl he wanted, only Brown knows if it was all worth it in the end.
What is your favorite Steelers memory involving Antonio Brown?
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