Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown recently printed on the Cam Capone News podcast that he departed Pittsburgh in 2019 because he noticed the writing on the wall that the crew wasn’t going to win a Super Bowl. He had to do what was fantastic for him, so he requested a trade.
Brown added more context on his controversial exit from Pittsburgh in an interview with VladTV, stating that JuJu Smith-Schuster winning team MVP additionally performed a section in him trying out. It appears that it nevertheless doesn’t sit down nicely with Brown, as he didn’t mainly mention Smith-Schuster by way of title in the course of the interview, but it was clear who he was referring to.
“At that time in 2018, I suppose I had 15 touchdowns, main the NFL, 100-something, 1,200, 1,300 yards,” Brown said. “Then we had any other younger receiver. And you recognize the NFL is all about, even the Steelers now they’ve obtained two receivers they pit in opposition to each other. I think they gave the youngster MVP over me. But I already had three or four.
“But for me, in my mind, MVP is Most Valuable Player. That goes out there and puts his soul on the line, coronary heart on the line and help the group win. In my mind, that’s how I appeared at it. And these guys were looking at it. We’re trying to construct up every other participant to strive and be who I am. And in the midst of that, I was once like, we’re in no way going to win with that kind of energy. So I’m going to request [a trade] and test the market and do what’s satisfactory for me.”
Smith-Schuster blossomed into a big name broad receiver in his 2nd year, posting career-high numbers in receptions (111) and yards (1,426). His recognition in the town and in the course of Steelers Nation was once astronomical. It wasn’t to the degree of Brown, however the famous person extensive receiver obviously thought he was once infringing on his territory.
Brown had a career-high 15 touchdown receptions in 2018, however had fewer receptions and yards than Smith-Schuster. Team MVP is voted on by using the players, and Brown won the award 4 instances already in his career, so possibly gamers wanted to see any one else win it. It’s uncertain how close the balloting was.
Brown’s displeasure of Smith-Schuster prevailing the award over him is no longer new information, as he referred to in a tweet in April of 2019 that Smith-Schuster’s fundamental fumble in opposition to New Orleans fee the Steelers the season.
“Emotion: boy fumbled the entire post season in the biggest sport of year,” Brown wrote. “Everyone went blind to busy making guys well-known now not adequate fact these days!”
Brown also taunted Smith-Schuster for recording forty two receptions for 552 yards in 2019.“Boo Boo Shoester was once geared up beneath five hundred U Bum research some Respect,” Brown wrote.The team MVP snub used to be just the establishing of Brown’s eruption, as he reportedly threw a football at Ben Roethlisberger throughout a heated dispute at some point of a walkthrough earlier than practice and then decided now not to exercise for the the rest of the week, totally going AWOL. Mike Tomlin benched Brown for the regular-season finale towards the Cincinnati Bengals, and that was once it for his career in the Black and Gold.
Brown received a Super Bowl title with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020. But, like in Pittsburgh, he had a tumultuous ending. In Week 17 of the 2021 season in opposition to the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium, Brown end on the Buccaneers by way of taking his jersey, shoulder pads, glove, and shirt off and ran off the field in the 0.33 quarter. Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians reduce Brown on the spot. He used to be formally released 4 days later, concluding his NFL career.Â
