Brown, Steelers agree to ‘move on’
Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown has ended his lengthy standoff with the Steelers by meeting with team President Art Rooney II, though any shot at reconciliation between the two sides appears to be out of the question.
Brown, who has asked to be traded, posted a picture on various socialmedia accounts Tuesday that showed him arm in arm with Rooney at the Palm Beach International Airport.
“We discussed a lot of things and we cleared the air on several issues!” Brown wrote. “We both agreed that it is time to move on but I’ll always have appreciation and gratitude towards the Rooney family and @steelers organization!”
Brown still has three years remaining on the $72 million contract he signed in the spring of 2017, and remains one of the most dynamic performers in the league. He is the only player in NFL history with six consecutive 100-catch seasons, and he had 104 receptions for 1,297 yards and a franchise-record 15 touchdowns in 2018.
Yet his relationship with the team has deteriorated over the past several months. NHL owner invests in AAF: Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon is investing $250 million in the Alliance of American Football.
Dundon also will serve as chairman of the fledgling eight-team league that began play Feb. 9. His involvement came together in a matter of days last week, according to Dundon and Alliance cofounder Charlie Ebersol, though Dundon had been monitoring the AAF’s development and debut.
Ebersol said Tuesday that reports the Alliance was short on cash and needed a bailout from Dundon in order to make payroll were untrue. He said the league had a technical glitch in its payroll system that has been fixed.
The Alliance has teams in Atlanta; Phoenix; San Diego; San Antonio; Memphis; Birmingham, Ala.; Orlando; and Salt Lake City. It will play a 10-week schedule before its playoffs, finishing on the final weekend of April.
Early response on TV — it has deals with CBS, Turner and NFL Network — and digitally was positive, Ebersol said. Chiefs clean defensive house: Kansas City head coach Andy Reid completed a massive staff overhaul, announcing the hiring of four assistants.
The biggest coup might be Brendan Daly, who was plucked from the Super Bowl champion Patriots after four seasons in Foxborough to handle the defensive line. Daly worked under new defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo when Spagnuolo was the head coach of the Rams.
Also hired were University of Kentucky defensive coordinator Matt House; Dave Merritt, who worked under Spagnuolo with the Giants before spending last season as the Cardinals’ defensive backs coach; and longtime NFL cornerback Sam Madison, who will help with the secondary in his first full-time coaching job in the league. Briefly: Dallas isn’t picking up a team option on the final year of Terrance Williams’ contract, making the receiver an unrestricted free agent after he spent his first six NFL seasons with the Cowboys . ... Former NFL head coach Dom Capers has joined Jacksonville’s coaching staff as senior defensive assistant, returning to the Jaguars two decades after his first stint with the team . ... The Giants re-signed tight end Scott Simonson.