Contract Talks Between Steelers & Antonio Brown “Moving Slow”, Brown Watching DeAndre Hopkins’ Holdout

Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that contract talks between the Steelers and WR Antonio Brown are “moving slow” for his likely, and they need to heat up in the coming days.

• According to Rapoport, Brown is keeping an eye on the situation involving Texans WR DeAndre Hopkins, who is holding out of training camp for a new contract of his own.
• Rapoport adds that Brown reported to training camp with optimism he would be able to secure a reworked deal. However, talks haven’t matched his urgency up to this point.

The two receivers have two opposite approaches to their contract situations, so I’m sure they’re both watching to see what happens with the other.

Pittsburgh has made a point to not renegotiate player contracts until they’re in the final year of the agreement, but there’s at least a chance they may consider doing a new deal for Brown.

Brown, 28, is in the fifth year of his six-year, $43.04 million contract that included an $8.5 million signing bonus. He’ll make a base salary of $8.25 million for the 2016 season.

In 2015, Brown appeared in all 16 games for the Steelers and caught 136 passes for 1,834 yards receiving and 10 touchdowns. Pro Football Focus rated Brown as the No. 1 overall wide receiver from this season, so his presence will surely be missed this week.