Just days after effectively torpedoing a potential trade to Buffalo the talented by high maintenance Antonio Brown is off to join Jon Gruden’s rebuilding party in Oakland. So who gets what from this trade?
Well, Pittsburgh gets rid of what had become a poison chalice for them given he has publically alienated his teammates and the coaching staff, and they have at least got something for him. The compensation may not be great and there is the dead cap money issue but they can now focus on their other problem child, Le’Veon Bell who sat out the entire 2018 campaign. They also get a Third and Fifth-round pick this year (No. 66 and 142) which is better than nothing.
Oakland and Jon Gruden, in particular, have done very well out of this having effectively blown up the roster last year in exchange for draft picks, and now they come out of it with what is effectively a swap of Amari Cooper and those two draft picks for a 1st Rounder (27 from Dallas) and arguably the best WR in the NFL – when he is on his game anyway. Although we questioned Gruden at the time there is no denying that his wheeling and dealing looks to have come up trumps. With three 1st round picks this year and an extra one next year the feared multi-year rebuild may be over quicker than expected (especially if they manage to snag Pittsburgh’s other problem child Le’Veon Bell In free Agency).
Antonio Brown is also a winner here – he is going from a Steelers team who might struggle to compete this year with the exodus of players and the rise in divisional competition, to a team who with the cap space to compete for the best players available and a bevvy of draft picks. They also have a decent QB in Derek Carr so he can pad those stats on his way to the HOF. He will also end up getting a nice pay rise into the bargain.
Overall the winner here is clearly Oakland who might just be ready to compete for the playoffs come September if things go as planned. Brown has done well too, landing somewhere warmer than Buffalo and having an established QB to throw him the ball. Now if he can keep his ego in check a big season beckons.
However we do feel a little sorry for the Steelers, who will have to strike it lucky to replace Brown with the draft compensation, and that dead-money salary-cap hit of over $21 million this season is going to restrict their own moves in free agency. They may get one record out of this though as $21m is probably the biggest one-year salary-cap hit in NFL history; not a good day at the office!
