Everybody knows Antonio Brown wants to be traded away from the Pittsburgh Steelers. You know this. I know this. The Steelers know this. Antonio Brown definitely knows this and has been telling everyone at every opportunity that he wants out.
Everyone in and around the NFL has been brainstorming about the best potential fits for Brown. The Colts have the cap space and the draft assets and Andrew Luck. The same is true of the 49ers, but with Jimmy Garoppolo. The Jets love to make a splash and Sam Darnold could use the help. The Raiders have a gazillion draft picks and Jon Gruden needs somebody who can catch passes. The Eagles are exploring Nelson Agholor trades ... could they be opening up room for Brown?
One of the most exciting potential options, though, is the division rival Cleveland Browns. Baker Mayfield looks like the real deal. Freddie Kitchens' offense did great things for him last season and they brought in Todd Monken from the Bucs to serve as offensive coordinator. They've got Nick Chubb and Duke Johnson, they just signed Kareem Hunt, and they have David Njoku and Jarvis Landry, too. Imagine if they added possibly the best receiver in football to all that?
Browns GM John Dorsey won't publicly discuss Brown because he's under contract with another team, but he does want to make sure that Steelers GM Kevin Colbert has his phone number. You know, just in case.
#Browns GM John Dorsey on possibly trading for Antonio Brown: ‘I’m not going to talk about another team’s players, but: ‘(Steelers GM Kevin Colbert), if you’re out there, here’s my cellphone.’
— Marc Sessler (@MarcSesslerNFL) February 28, 2019
The likelihood of the Steelers sending Brown to a division rival seems fairly low, but there's an argument to be made that they shouldn't care which team they trade Brown to so long as they get the best available deal. And the Browns could easily offer their first-round pick (No. 17 overall), take on Brown's money, and still have plenty of cap room and draft capital available to fill out the rest of their roster. It makes a lot of sense unless the only thing that matters to the Steelers is keeping him out of the AFC North. But it's at least worth a shot for Dorsey.