Jan 12, 2019 6 min read

Art Rooney II said last week that he can’t envision disgruntled receiver Antonio Brown being with the Steelers in 2019 given everything that has happened – or not happened.

The thing that most notably hasn’t happened, according to the Steelers’ president, is Brown hasn’t returned phone calls from either him or head coach Mike Tomlin.

Rooney also said that releasing Brown isn’t something the Steelers will consider.

Rooney added, “We’ll look at all the options. We’re not going to release him, that’s not on the table. But I will say all other options are on the table.”

If releasing Brown isn’t an option and Rooney can’t envision him being on the team’s roster next season, that leaves only one other thing the Steelers can do – trade Brown.

Will there be a market for the 31-year-old? Sure. Brown set an NFL record this season with his sixth consecutive 100-catch season. He led the NFL with 15 touchdown catches.

But any suitor will have to take into consideration the way things have ended in Pittsburgh and decide if he’s worth the trouble.

That said, there will be a market. After all, there are, oh, 32 teams that could use a player as talented as Brown on their roster. That includes the Steelers.

And that tells you all you need to know about exactly how bad this situation has gotten.

• It’s hard to imagine the Steelers getting a top-10 pick for Brown unless they’re also willing to give up their first-round pick in the trade. That would also garner them some later picks. So, it could be something like Brown and the Steelers’ first-round pick – 20th overall – for a high first-round pick and a second- or third-round selection.

Obviously, the lower the pick is in the first round, the greater the compensation.

The Steelers, however, can’t trade Brown before the new league year begins March 13. But they’ll want to do so before March 17, when he would be paid a $2.5-million roster bonus.

There’s no way they’re going to want to give him a check for $2.5 million.

• Can the Steelers be contenders in 2019 without Brown?

Sure. But they’ll need to make some adjustments.

First, they’ll need to sign or draft – preferably sign – a wide receiver who is capable not of replacing Brown’s stats – that won’t be possible – but one who can provide some big plays. Kansas City’s pending free agent, Chris Conley, a 6-3 deep threat, would fit the bill there opposite JuJu Smith-Schuster.

James Washington also will need to make a bigger impact in his second season.

But the Steelers also would need to commit to running the ball more, much like they did down the stretch in 2016.

That’s when Le’Veon Bell had 237 carries over the final nine games – including playoffs – heading into the AFC Championship. Of course, the 26 carries and more than 30 touches per game he averaged down the stretch led to a groin injury in the AFC Championship.

That would lead to the other part of the equation: Get another running back capable of carrying the load with James Conner and play things like the New Orleans Saints have the past two seasons with quarterback Drew Brees.

In 2016, Brees led the NFL in pass attempts. Last season, he threw the ball nearly 150 fewer times. This season, it was even less as the Saints have become more reliant on their two-headed rushing attack of Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram.

That’s worked well.

• Running the ball more also would help the defense by eating up more clock.

The less time the defense spends on the field, the better.

• The addition of Teryl Austin to the coaching staff on Friday should help the secondary.

Prior to bombing out in Cincinnati this season, Austin was a hotshot defensive assistant who was on the short list of several teams as a head coaching candidate.

The Sharon native has been on the coaching staff of three different teams that have reached the Super Bowl, winning in 2012 with the Ravens.

In 1982, just before my freshman year in high school, I had the pleasure of watching Austin, then a senior at Sharon High School, compete in the Hoyle Basketball Tournament. Also on the floor that night were future NCAA basketball stars Dwayne “Pearl” Washington, Walter Berry and, if memory serves, Dallas Comegys.

Washington went on to star at Syracuse, Berry at St. John’s and Comegys at DePaul.

Austin went on to play defensive back at Pitt.

The Steelers have always had one of the smallest coaching staffs in the NFL. Considering they play 75 to 80 percent of the time with five- and six-defensive back alignments, having just one person to coach that group – Tom Bradley – was asking quite a bit.

This week’s picks

Chargers (plus 4) over Patriots: The Patriots are 7-0 against the Chargers and Philip Rivers when Tom Brady starts. So much for the Steelers being the only team that combination tortures. But, as we saw earlier this season, all of that meant nothing when this version of the Patriots came to Heinz Field. This version of the Patriots just isn’t that good. This, however, will be the Chargers’ third consecutive road trip, which is rough but they are unbeaten this season when they’ve had to get on a plane. They’re also the more-talented team. That’s why they’ll not only cover in this game, they’ll win it outright, 27-24.

Saints (plus 8) over Eagles: When these teams met in New Orleans back in November, the Saints hammered the Eagles, 48-7. This game won’t go like that one, but the Saints are still the better team. And playing at the Superdome is tough for opposing teams because of all the noise. This one will be loud and the Saints seem to be on a mission. They’ll get it started with a 34-17 win over the Eagles.