In a surprise move, it looks like the Antonio Brown saga is ending on a late Thursday night. Reports say he’s headed to the Buffalo Bills.
Reports went wild this week that the Antonio Brown dilemma was ending this week because the Pittsburgh Steelers were ready to trade him by Friday. Literally minutes before Friday came on the East Coast, it looks like Antonio Brown is heading to the Buffalo Bills.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapaport reports that a deal is in place, but the details of that deal have not been released at this point. It’s a massive surprise, since the Bills were never one of the teams mentioned as a possible Brown destination. Over the past few days we’ve been hearing the Oakland Raiders and Arizona Cardinals as possible destinations, but here we are.
Brown will get a chance to see if the grass is really greener on the other side, as he trades in passes from Ben Roethlisberger for Josh Allen, who was a run-first quarterback in his first season under center.
The Bills could sorely use a number one wide receiver. Zay Jones was their leading receiver, and he finished the season with 652 yards. He’s a fine complimentary number two, but he wasn’t a number one by any stretch. Now with Brown in the building, he gets to go back to a role that better suits him.
The big question is whether this will make Brown happy in the long run. Obviously, there’s no way we can tell at this point, but he’s probably just going to be happy to get out of Pittsburgh. His time had run its course there, and it was time for both parties to move on.
It is strange the Steelers traded him to an AFC team, but it’s possible they don’t believe it will come back to bite them with him going to a team that’s been near the bottom of the standings for the better part of a decade. They do have a really good head coach in Sean McDermott and some pieces on defense.
One thing that will define this relationship is how Allen and Brown work together. If Allen continues his running ways, that will take numbers away from Brown. We all know how that might work out.
Either way, on paper this is a huge win for the Bills. The New England Patriots still hold a stranglehold on the division, and won he Super Bowl last year, but they showed cracks last season. This division may one day be there for the taking.
Oh by the way, the Bills and Steelers play each other next season. Now that’s going to be must-see TV.