Bills Unable To Reach Agreement With Steelers On Trade For Antonio Brown, No Longer In The Mix

Despite a report from Ian Rapoport that the Bills were close to trading for WR Antonio Brown on Thursday night, the team announced Friday morning that they inquired about a deal, but were unable to reach an agreement with the Steelers. 

“We inquired about Antonio Brown on Tuesday, and kept talks open with the Steelers,” Bills GM Brandon Beane said in a statement to Adam Schefter. “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.”

Albert Breer reports that Brown was clear that he didn’t want to go to Buffalo and a source says there are “very few options left” for the Steelers and Brown.

Reports began to surface that a deal may not be as close as the initial report suggested late last night. 

For such a big story, only one outlet was reporting the news while the others were really quiet. 

Brown, 30, is a former sixth-round pick of the Steelers back in 2010. He’s currently in the third year of his five-year, $72.71 million contract that included a $19 million signing bonus and stands to make base salaries of $12.625 million and $11.3 million over the next two years of the agreement.

Pittsburgh will incur a $21 million cap hit by trading Brown, who is owed a $2.5 million roster bonus on the third day of the league year.

In 2018, Brown appeared in 15 games for the Steelers and caught 104 passes for 1,297 yards and 15 touchdowns. Pro Football Focus has him rated as the No. 26 receiver out of 117 qualifying players.

We’ll have more regarding Brown as the news is available.