Steelers won’t tag RB Bell, will explore trading WR Brown
Le’Veon Bell is free to go. Antonio Brown, maybe not so much.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have no plans to place a transition tag on Bell, allowing the star running back to reach the open market when free agency begins next month. And while the team will explore moving Brown, general manager Kevin Colbert stressed Wednesday the Steelers will not cut the talented but turbulent star wide receiver just to appease him.
“By no means are we going to make a trade or any type of move that will not be beneficial to the Pittsburgh Steeler organization,” Colbert said. “We will not be discounting [Brown] the trade market and we certainly will not be releasing [him].”
Brown began openly campaigning for a new team shortly after Pittsburgh finished 9-6-1, upset after being made inactive for the regular season finale against Cincinnati for failing to provide coach Mike Tomlin with an update on his status after Tomlin sent Brown home from practice a couple of days before the game to nurse an injury.
The Steelers won but missed the playoffs. Brown has spent most of the last two months thumbing his nose at the organization via social media in an effort to assure he wouldn’t be welcomed back, including calling out quarterback Ben Roethlisberger for having an “owner mentality” and questioning Tomlin’s integrity.
Yet Colbert said he doesn’t believe Brown’s erratic behavior will hurt his trade value and didn’t even rule out a chance that Brown returns to Pittsburgh for a 10th season in 2019. Brown met with Colbert, team president Art Rooney II and vice president Omar Khan in Florida on Tuesday to clear the air.
Though both sides agreed “looking into a trade would probably be the best course of action,” Brown and Rooney posed for a picture afterward , a gesture Col- bert called more indicative of Brown’s character than the drama that’s surrounded him at times during his prolific rise from sixthround pick to the most productive wide receiver of his generation.
The team has not yet entered into active trade talks for Brown, the only player in NFL history with six straight seasons of at least 100 receptions. That figures to pick up with free agency set to begin on March 13 and Brown due a $2.5 million roster bonus on March 17.
ELSEWHERE
Jets: New York declined contract options on safety Terrence Brooks, defensive tackle Mike Pennel and linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis. The moves make all three players free agents when the NFL’s new calendar year begins on March 13.
Brooks was a key backup on defense and standout on special teams in his two seasons with the Jets. He was the AFC defensive player of the week in the third game of the 2017 season when he had two interceptions against Miami, which was then led by current Jets coach Adam Gase. Pennel made 10 starts during the last two years for New York, and had 30 tackles this past season. Pierre-Louis spent one season with the Jets and was a key contributor on special teams, including a blocked punt against Tennessee in Week 13.
Panthers: Running backs coach Jim Skipper has retired from coaching after 32 years in the NFL, including 15 with Carolina. Carolina ranked in the top 10 in rushing yards eight times in Skipper’s 15 seasons, including each of the last five years. Carolina’s running backs went to six Pro Bowls under Skipper and four were voted All-Pro.
Later Wednesday, the Panthers hired Jake Peetz to replace Skipper. Peetz has nine years of experience as an NFL coach, most recently with the Raiders from 2015-17.
He spent last year working for Nick Saban at Alabama as an offensive analyst.