Pittsburgh Steelers: Trading Antonio Brown opens positive doors

By trading Antonio Brown the Pittsburgh Steelers created new opportunities and saved themselves from any more drama from the star player.

The Steelers will get a better locker room atmosphere since AB is now on the other side of the country and younger wideouts can make more of a name for themselves.

JuJu Smith-Schuster can show he can be Pittsburgh’s No. 1 target and James Washington can become the No. 2 receiver for veteran QB Ben Roethlisberger.

Sure AB is the best receiver in the NFL and Pitt will eat about $20 million of his contract, but the Steelers can spread the ball around more now that the human headache who dawned a #84 jersey is out of town.

The Steelers have two additional draft picks after getting a 3rd and 5th round pick in the AB deal, which they could use in a trade for a player who could help them on defense or they could trade up, potentially.

Antonio Brown is now out of the division and Pittsburgh won’t have to face him at all next year, plus AB is on a team that won’t be playoff ready in 2019.

Let’s get one thing out of the way. Pittsburgh won the AB trade because of the reasons written above, but on top of that AB is getting older and so it makes it easier for the Steelers to trade him. Pittsburgh is known for discovering good receivers in the draft anyway.

Sure Pittsburgh would have liked to get a 1st or 2nd round pick for Antonio Brown, but with all the distractions that he brings to the table, his age and his contract, it’s not the end of the world for the Steel City to settle for two picks.

The two picks the Steelers got from the Oakland Raiders increase their chances of getting an exceptional player in this year’s draft and so, the more the better.

Oakland had so many needs and it’s head-scratching to give AB $30 million guaranteed with so many holes to fill and if there’s anything we have learned from the Washington Redskins and some other teams, it’s that you can’t rebuild through free agency or trades.

Besides its odd top see Oakland hanging on to Derek Carr when it didn’t look like Carr earned his keep and head coach Jon Gruden didn’t seem enthralled with Carr as his QB.

The Steelers can start fresh without worrying about star players ruining the team’s culture and demanding for things to break their way, which is a win itself.