As Brown inches ever closer to a trade, we sort through the teams who could offer the most for him.
Antonio Brown keeps inching toward his seemingly unavoidable departure from Pittsburgh. Years of veiled trade threats boiled over at the end of a tumultuous 2018 season, and now his desire for a deal to free him from the Steelers is so undeniable even team owner Art Rooney seems to agree.
That means a four-time first-team All-Pro is on the trading block, and it’s unclear what the Steelers are expecting in exchange for the second-most prolific wideout in franchise history. The 30-year old’s past production suggests he’s worthy of a Khalil Mack, two first-round picks haul. But Brown’s age, reported locker room issuesthroughout his Pittsburgh tenure, and recent demands for a restructured contract with more guaranteed money will dull the luster of the offers Rooney’s team receives.
So who can come up with the best offer for a man with 9,157 receiving yards and 67 touchdowns over his last six seasons? Here are all 31 of Brown’s possible suitors, sorted by their combination of tradable assets, need, available cap space, and chance of landing him.
Tier I: We’ve got plenty to offer and the space to extend Brown
The Colts are loaded cap space and trade capital, with nine picks in the upcoming draft. That includes the Jets’ second-round pick, which the Colts extracted from them after moving back from No. 3 to No. 6 in last year’s draft. Brown and T.Y Hilton would give Indianapolis one of the league’s most devastating 1-2 punches at receiver.
The 49ers are the odds-on favorite to land Brown, who would immediately become their top wideout. Plus, Brown has openly flirted with the team.
3. New York Jets
The Jets have typically been linked to Brown’s teammate Le’Veon Bell, but adding a playmaker to Sam Darnold’s arsenal would boost one of the league’s most anonymous receiving corps.
4. Oakland (?) Raiders
Jon Gruden spent his first season as Raiders head coach trading players for draft assets. With three first-round picks, 2019 may signal a switch in strategy as he looks to build his roster with a few marketable stars in advance of its 2020 Las Vegas debut. Adding Brown would also fill a need — of which the Raiders have many.
The Bills need to give Josh Allen someone to throw to, first of all. They also have a top-11 pick in each round of the draft and a boatload of cap space (around $83 million) to give Brown the guaranteed money he wants.
Giving Kliff Kingsbury the opportunity to throw the ball in Brown’s direction 30 times a game would make the Cardinals infinitely more watchable, no matter who the quarterback is.
The Broncos won’t be loaded with cap room after the deal for Joe Flacco goes through, but they can get $11 million in savings by cutting Case Keenum. Getting a veteran receiver while Emmanuel Sanders recovers from a torn Achilles is a scenario that makes enough sense that NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported trading for Brown is an avenue the team is likely to pursue.
The Lions suffered through one of the worst seasons of Matthew Stafford’s career thanks to a depleted WR depth chart. Adding Brown through some combination of valuable draft picks and/or young players could be the litmus test that determines whether he’s capable of recovery.
Houston has three of the draft’s first 55 picks and around $75 million in cap space this spring. Figuring out what to do with Jadeveon Clowney and Tyrann Mathieu will eat into that, but fitting Brown into the space Demaryius Thomas left behind when he was released would give Deshaun Watson one of the league’s most explosive receiving corps.
Tier II: We don’t have as much to offer, but we’re sure Antonio would be happy here
10. Dallas Cowboys
The Cowboys shipped away their 2019 first-round pick in their trade for Amari Cooper. Now they need to figure out how to extend him and quarterback Dak Prescott as they head toward the final seasons of their rookie contracts, plus lock down Demarcus Lawrence. Still, it’s Jerry Jones, so ...
The Packers’ WR lineup was limited to Davante Adams and a pair of late-round rookies last fall, and making Aaron Rodgers happy is 1-3 on new head coach Matt LaFleur’s daily to-do list in Green Bay.
Los Angeles could use another impact receiver to buttress Keenan Allen, and Brown could be the tipping point that pushes Philip Rivers to his first Super Bowl appearance.
13. Seattle Seahawks
Russell Wilson seems to get by with Doug Baldwin and an assortment of guys who never get selected in your fantasy draft; let’s see what he could do with another top wideout.
Tier III: We don’t have much to offer, end of sentence.
14. Tennessee Titans
The Titans need receiving help alongside a budding Corey Davis, but they only have six picks in the upcoming draft, all in the later part of each round. They also have an unsettled quarterback situation thanks to Marcus Mariota’s continuous string of injuries.
The Buccaneers have better draft capital but less cap space for an extension. Take what we just said about Mariota and replace the last four words with “consistently terrible decision-making,” and now it applies to Jameis Winston.
16. New York Giants
The Giants have their own wide receiver rumors to handle. They need to figure out if they’re really committed to Odell Beckham Jr. before they start throwing the assets they’ll need to rebuild at Brown.
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Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY SportsTier IV: We’d love to have Brown, but we don’t need another WR badly enough to make a Godfather offer
17. Chicago Bears
The Bears don’t have a great deal of cap space and they don’t have the picks to make a big offer after trading away two first-rounders for Khalil Mack. Still, the idea of Brown, Allen Robinson, Taylor Gabriel, and Anthony Miller is exciting.
Imagine Antonio Brown, Adam Thielen, and Stefon Diggs on the same team. That trio would possibly be the best group of receivers in NFL history. It’s fun to dream about, but the Vikings can’t realistically make a trade for Brown. They don’t have much cap space to navigate free agency.
19. Los Angeles Rams
The Rams were wildly aggressive during the 2018 offseason, acquiring Ndamukong Suh, Aqib Talib, Marcus Peters, and Brandin Cooks for a Super Bowl run. It worked, but now the Rams have only one selection in the top 125 picks of the 2019 NFL Draft and not enough cap space to keep all their impending free agents.
Kansas City did one thing really well in 2018: Score points. It was the Chiefs’ terrible defense that was the issue all year and will be the top priority in the offseason. So as fun as it is to imagine Brown on an offense with Patrick Mahomes, Tyreek Hill, and Travis Kelce, there’s no way the Chiefs use up the cap space that they have to add another offensive weapon.
21. Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta has Julio Jones and Calvin Ridley. Wide receiver is the last thing the Falcons need to worry about.
Tier V: We’d love to have Brown, but our cap situation (tugs collar)
Jacksonville will have a little more cap flexibility once it releases more players. But the team needs to focus on using that money to pay up for a quarterback before making a trade for a receiver a priority.
The Eagles will get their cap reprieve when Nick Foles makes his inevitable departure, but that’ll just take the team out of the negatives and into the green. Philly would need some serious maneuvering to somehow make enough space for Brown. If the Eagles did manage to create that space, the team could improve its receiving corps just by making sure Golden Tate is around for another year.
24. Washington
The four-year, $94 million contract Alex Smith signed last season didn’t leave Washington much room to do much this offseason. The even bigger problem: Smith’s gruesome leg injury has left the team without a starting quarterback in 2019. After the team is done worrying about that problem, it won’t have much left over to go after a player as pricy as Brown.
The Saints badly need someone to take the pressure off Michael Thomas’ capable shoulders, but they have almost no cap space. They also still need to keep their pockets relatively clear so they can give extensions to Thomas, Alvin Kamara, and Marshon Lattimore.
26. Miami Dolphins
Miami’s richest football tradition is a cap sheet that’s a complete mess, and the franchise may have to be razed down to its foundation before being rebuilt under new head coach Brian Flores.
The Panthers just suffered through a down season on their “playoffs every other year” plan. Brown could be a key piece of their latest revival while giving Cam Newton his first true WR1 since Steve Smith, though money is tight.
Tier VI: There’s no way in hell the Steelers are trading you Antonio Brown
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Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY SportsThe Patriots could lose three of their top four wide receivers to free agency this spring, and Bill Belichick has been aggressive at the position in the past with high-profile acquisitions like Randy Moss and Chad Ochocinco. The team traded for Josh Gordon this season and reportedly made a run at Odell Beckham Jr. last year. But do the Steelers want to deal an elite talent to a team that rules the AFC? Nope.
29. Cleveland Browns
The Browns have the cap space and assets to make a run at Brown, but combining a vindictive former Steeler with Baker Mayfield, whose default mode is “vindictive” to begin with, would make the pair a borderline superhero duo at Heinz Field.
30. Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens need wideouts badly, but the Steelers f—ing hate them.
Same for the Bengals. But even more.