AFC North Notes: Bengals, Antonio Brown, Steelers

Bengals

• Albert Breer thinks Vance Joseph is the likeliest candidate to land the Bengals’ head-coaching job, due to his familiarity with owner Mike Brown.

Antonio Brown

A source explained to Albert Breer that the Steelers’ decision to vote JuJu Smith-Schuster as MVP this season likely factored into the issues that arose with Antonio Brown last week.

“He was just frustrated,” a source tells Breer. “The MVP vote—it’s those things that set him off. He was unreal in New Orleans, we still lost, and the vote comes out and it’s JuJu. So he shows up for work, he’s not voted MVP, he’s in a bad way, and that carried over into the walkthrough.”

According to Breer, Brown explained to those close to him that he didn’t feel some of his teammates were as invested in 2018 as he was and it showed up in their work, and he was ultimately fed up about it.

As for a potential trade involving Brown, Breer says it’s possible, but it could be difficult for the Steelers to get proper value for a player with obvious baggage.

Steelers

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin made it clear that changes are coming to the team this offseason.

“Change is going to be a part of moving forward,” Tomlin said, via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “What those changes will be, we are in the process of gathering information and plotting out a course. We are not going to be resistant to change in any facet. . . .

“When you lack success and you fail, change is a part of it. We’ve talked about it as a staff. We’ve talked about it (with) players in exit interviews and meetings. That’s just our business. You look around our business and see and recognize and embrace that element of it.”