The Pittsburgh Steelers have featured many legendary players in their franchise history. Some have come in bunches and one of those recent trios were the Killer B's. Between Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell, and Antonio Brown, some of the best moments were because of those three. Unfortunately, things didn't transpire the way fans would have liked it to and the Steelers parted ways with two of those three.
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger dealt with several troubled wideouts in his tenure in Pittsburgh, including the rapid downfall of Antonio Brown.
Trading away Brown to the Las Vegas Raiders (then Oakland) was a big deal to move on from a legendary wide receiver. That move came with the return of a third- and fifth-round draft pick back in 2019. It was a move that former head coach Jon Gruden was so excited about doing.
Gruden has always described Brown with such high praise, talking about the gift he has on the football field. When he first got to the Raiders, Gruden expressed how he's never seen anyone like him. That did come with some ups and downs as Brown threatened to retire if he didn't wear the helmet of his choice, despite it being banned for failing modern safety certifications. There were some other situations to go along with that, but in general, the extra off-the-field incidents ultimately hurt him in the long run.
With all that said, Gruden has some heavy words when talking about what could have been with Brown and the Raiders. He recently spoke on Not Just Football with Cam Heyward about this previous trade and expressed his thoughts.
"We took a shot," Gruden stated. "Unfortunately, it didn't work out. There were some issues off the field that I think he wanted to deal with. He wasn't really as focused on football as he was in the past. But the two or three OTAs that we had him on the field, he was running our routes, running my stuff... I thought we were going to complete every pass. I mean this guy's running my routes better than they've ever been ran before. It’s one of my biggest regrets, honestly in my career that, that didn’t work out."
Brown had put together a special era in Pittsburgh. While it didn't work out the way that fans would have liked it to, across the country in Oakland, things didn't get much better. In fact, he didn't even play a snap with the Raiders. In 2019, the only game he played was with the New England Patriots. He did get a few more stints with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but after leaving Pittsburgh, Brown's career fell completely off.
ESPN
The New England Patriots released veteran wide receiver Antonio Brown after sexual assault accusations emerged in September of 2019.
That move for Gruden is what he describes as one of his biggest regrets. Not because the deal was made either. It seems like he would have made that gamble again. He regrets how it didn't pay off. Not really anything that he could have done differently either.
Brown just didn't work out with the Raiders. If he did, Gruden may have been able to squeeze out another Super Bowl appearance. Without Brown, their offseason plans were spoiled and losing two key draft picks for no games played out of their anticipated star set them back. A few years later, Gruden lost his job as the head coach and with situations like this, that job wasn't easy.
Steelers Reminded Of Antonio Brown's Issues With Jon Gruden's Message
It's a shame how things didn't work out with Brown for either organization. This period of time may have kept Brown out of the Hall of Fame.
Peter Diana / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Former Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown celebrates getting into the end zone during an NFL game.
He truly was one of the best receivers to ever do it. His career will be debated for years to come and Steelers fans will always wonder "what-if" he stayed in Pittsburgh.
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