It was a year to remember in Pittsburgh for the Steelers. Le’Veon Bell held out the entire year, many thought Mike Tomlin had lost the team and was this the final year of the Ben Roethlisberger? Even when things were looking up, the Steelers hit a losing streak late in the season dropping four games in a row. They would go on to miss the playoffs for the first time in six seasons. There’s been a lot of reports about Antonio Brown. Will he remain with the black and yellow? Or, will he be playing elsewhere in 2019? Today, he tweeted thanking Steelers nation also saying it’s time to move on. Where’s he ends up? Let’s look at some possibilities.
1. New England Patriots– You see this and you’re probably cringing at the thought of this possibility. Let me be realistic here. The Super Bowl champs don’t have that true threat on the perimeter at the receiver position. Julian Edelman is good and so is Chris Hogan, but they aren’t guys that can pose as deep threats down the field. This is where you insert AB. He’d give Brady a true number one receiver. They had that in 2017 with Brandin Cooks, but the team decided to trade him. This is a potential move that would go hand in hand with one another. Just think Brady, Michel, Edelman, Gronkowski (if he decides to come back) then AB? Just give them the AFC now at this point if this were to happen.
2. San Francisco 49ers– Jerry Rice came out and said that Antonio wants to be a Niner. Everything is in place for the 49ers to get back to winning. They have a quarterback they’ve invested in; the running game will be back this year and George Kittle has become a star at tight end. Let’s also mention they have an offensive minded coach in Kyle Shanahan. A possible acquisition of Antonio Brown could easily put the 49ers back into the race in the NFC West and the conference. I could see he and Garoppolo becoming one of the best quarterback/receiver tandems in the league.
3. Green Bay Packers– Everyone continues to say give Aaron Rodgers a weapon. The Packers have been linked to getting a big name for that offense for years now. Everyone thought the Jimmy Graham move was the icing on the cake for the Packers and that worked out about as well as Nathan Peterman throwing it to the same guy wearing the same uniform as him. You bring a playmaker like AB to Green Bay, this brings the excitement back to the Packers offense. Remember how potent Aaron was with Jordy Nelson all those years? Think of that with Rodgers and Antonio, but more from these two. Davante Adams is also a solid receiver and I could see he and AB being considered one of the best receiving tandems in the league. This is something that the Packers need to consider.
4. Carolina Panthers– They basically have a receiver by committing type of thing going on. One week it’s Torrey Smith, next it’s Devin Funchess, which one is it? The last true number one receiver the Panthers had was Kelvin Benjamin then he tore his ACL in 2015 and Cam Newton ended up putting together the best season of his career and won MVP. Since then, he’s been average at best. The Panthers offensive game plan over the last few seasons has been dumping off to McCaffrey, a pass to Olsen (when healthy) or Cam is running it. When the Panthers have everything in place for them, they’re a tough group to beat. Cam needs a receiver like Antonio because what he has now around him doesn’t scare anybody on a defense and that’s no disrespect to them but I’m not fearing facing a guy like Funchess.
Dark Horses: Chicago Bears, Oakland Raiders, Indianapolis Colts, Washington Redskins, Seattle Seahawks, New York Jets, Denver Broncos.
