Friday morning, Schefter tweeted a quote from Bills general manager Brandon Beane, which said, "We inquired about Antonio Brown on Tuesday, and kept talks open with the Steelers. We had positive discussions, but ultimately it didn’t make sense for either side. As great a player as Antonio Brown is, we have moved on and our focus is on free agency.”
Bills’ GM Brandon Beane: “We inquired about Antonio Brown on Tuesday, and kept talks open with the Steelers. We had positive discussions, but ultimately it didn’t make sense for either side. As great a player as Antonio Brown is, we have moved on and our focus is on free agency.”
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 8, 2019
Original report: A new report from the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said the Pittsburgh Steelers are working out a deal to trade receiver Antonio Brown to the Buffalo Bills.Rapoport's tweet, which included limited information and cited "sources," was sent just before 11:30 p.m. Thursday night.
Antonio Brown is not being traded to the Buffalo Bills, according to a tweet by Adam Schefter.
Friday morning, Schefter tweeted a quote from Bills general manager Brandon Beane, which said, "We inquired about Antonio Brown on Tuesday, and kept talks open with the Steelers. We had positive discussions, but ultimately it didn’t make sense for either side. As great a player as Antonio Brown is, we have moved on and our focus is on free agency.”
Sources: The #Steelers are closing in on a deal to send star WR Antonio Brown to the Buffalo #Bills. There it is.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) March 8, 2019
Previously, the Steelers had said they were looking to get a trade done by Friday.
A few hours after that initial report, Vic Carucci, an NFL writer, said on Twitter that the Bills have inquired about Brown, but no deal was imminent, and one source termed it as "unlikely."
An NFL source says #Bills have inquired about Antonio Brown with the #Steelers, but no deal is imminent. In fact, another league source termed it "unlikely."
— Vic Carucci (@viccarucci) March 8, 2019
Brown, 30, responded to a report about the potential trade on Instagram, calling it "fake news."
Brown, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, was taken by the Steelers in the sixth round, 195th overall, in the 2010 NFL draft. Since then he's become one of the most prolific wide receivers in NFL history.
Brown became the first player to record more than 100 catches in six straight seasons, while piling up more receptions (821), receiving yards (11,040) and receiving touchdowns (74) since 2011 than anyone in the NFL.
Brown has been named a first-team All Pro four times in his career (2014-2017) but there have been just as many distractions off the field that have led to this divorce with the Steelers.
Brown has three years remaining on his current deal, with scheduled base salaries of $12.6 million in 2019, $11.3 million in 2020 and $12.5 million in 2021, but he has no guaranteed money remaining on the contract.
Brown, who turns 31 in July, grew frustrated with the Steelers organization this past season and failed to show up for a workday in Week 17, leading to his benching for the season finale.
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