Agent Drew Rosenhaus, in New Orleans as the Steelers prepared for tonight’s preseason game against the Saints, discussed wide receiver Antonio Brown‘s contract with Pittsburgh general manager Kevin Colbert, tweets Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Brown, who has two years left on his deal, has been requesting a new contract for some time, but the Steelers have been insistent that they won’t negotiate right now. Universally considered an elite pass-catcher, Brown is ranked 18th among wide receivers in terms of average annual compensation ($8.4MM/year).
Here’s more from the AFC:
- The Colts are meeting with Stevan Ridley today, but don’t expect them to sign him or any other running back before the end of the day, according to Stephen Holder of the Indianapolis Star (Twitter link). If Ridley proves to be healthy, he could be a quality backup for starter Frank Gore. The Colts have spoken at length about their plan to preserve Gore and keep him on a pitch count. Last year, Gore wound up carrying the ball 260 times, and Indianapolis wants to dial that number down so that the veteran can be fresh late in the season.
- Dolphins linebacker Jelani Jenkins underwent a “cleanup” procedure on his knee, reports Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald (Twitter link), and although Jackson doesn’t specify a timeline, it’s fair to assume the operation took place fairly recently. Defensive end Terrence Fede, meanwhile, has a sprained MCL, so Miami’s defensive depth could be getting a little thin. The Dolphins had interest in adding linebacker Stephen Tulloch before he signed with the Eagles, so the club could look to add some bodies to its defense during the next few weeks.
- Linebacker Vince Williams‘ new deal with the Steelers calls for him to earn $5MM in new money over the three-year span, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. His 2016 salary of $675K remains the same but he also gets a $1.5MM signing bonus with a $2MM salary in 2017 and 2018.
- Barkevious Mingo‘s skillset is a solid fit for the Patriots‘ versatile defense, as the former Brown is comfortable both rushing and dropping into coverage from the linebacker position, explains Doug Kyed of NESN.com. Earlier today, I examined why New England might have shipped a fifth-round to Cleveland for Mingo (aside from on-field reasons).
I know it’s against their philosophy to extend players with more than one year on their contract but Antonio Brown is a special situation. Not only is he the best wide receiver in the league, but this year with Bryant being out the whole year he is the only reliable wide out on the steelers this year. Just like the Texans did with JJ Watt give him his money before the last year of his deal. Generational talents like Brown deserve special exceptions.
Yes he does.
AB has 2 years left on his contact. A deal if reachable will be done next offseason or camp.
or worst case scenario he is franchise tagged after 2017-2018 season and is paid the average of the top 5 WR’s in the league. and as we all agree he is either the best or second best WR in the league so getting him at the average of the top 5 is a bargain for the steelers.
As a Patriots fan I absolutely concur. This kid is an amazing talent and fun to watch. One of the best receivers in the NFL without a doubt.