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Once considered a position of strength, Steelers wide receivers have been diminished by injuries and suspension
Considering his ill-advised locker-room video and the negative vitriol that publicly engulfed him after the season, Antonio Brown remains the one sure component among Steelers wide receivers.
After that, there is more uncertainty than a variable rate loan.
Brown became only the second player in NFL history to put together four consecutive seasons with 100 or more receptions when he finished 2016 with 106 catches, 1,264 yards and a personal-best 12 touchdowns. No other player in league history has more receptions in their first 100 games than the two-time All-Pro receiver (622).
Brown enters the final season of his six-year, $43 million contract and team president Art Rooney II has left little doubt the Steelers would like to re-sign him to a long-term deal.
“Antonio is a good guy, a good person,” Rooney said after the season. “His teammates like to have him on the team. He is a hard worker. He is another player that I would hope we would address his contract and have him here for the long-term.”
Brown’s numbers in 2016 were not as gaudy as the previous two seasons, but a large reason is because the Steelers lost three of their other top receivers — Martavis Bryant, Markus Wheaton and Sammie Coates — for a substantial length of time either because of injury or suspension. And there is no guarantee any of that is going to change in 2017.
Bryant needs to be reinstated by the league following his season-long suspension, Wheaton will probably be let go in free agency and Coates was dogged by injuries to his finger and groin and could be facing knee surgery.
That is why the Steelers could spend an early portion of the NFL draft seeking a wide receiver to erase some of the uncertainty and take some of the attention away from Brown.
The situation surrounding Bryant, should it be resolved to the Steelers’ liking, would go a long way to easing any amount of concern that might exist about the position. But when and if he is reinstated, Bryant’s biggest hurdle will be rebuilding trust with the organization, the coaches, his teammates and, perhaps most important, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
“I think there’s some work to be done there ... where he is physically and mentally, his attitude toward being the kind of player he needs to be to be a successful player,” said team president Art Rooney II. “We’ll see how it unfolds.”
There is no question about Bryant’s talent. There are on those in the organization who believe Bryant might not only be the best receiver on the team, he could be the best in the league. Whether it’s true or mere hyperbole is not the point. What it indicates is the immense ability Bryant possesses.
“He has a tremendous amount of talent and potential,” Rooney said. “To the extent we can have him on the team and have him bring his talent to its fullest potential would be great. But [we’ve] got a ways to go before any of us understand where that is.”
There is probably less uncertainty about Wheaton, who never really recovered from a shoulder injury that limited him in training camp and eventually put him on injured reserve. He is an unrestricted free agent and the Steelers are not expecting to bring him back, unless it was for the bare veteran minimum.
Wheaton played in only three games in 2016, catching four passes for 51 yards. His only moment of significance was dropping a pass in the end zone on the opening series in Philadelphia — one of three drops incurred in his first game back from injury.
The Steelers have young bodies to replace Wheaton, most notably Eli Rogers, who showed enough flashes in his first NFL season to convince the Steelers he can be a capable replacement. Rogers was third on the team with 48 catches and 594 yards and his winning 24-yard TD catch in the comeback victory in Cincinnati was a textbook display of route running. Roethlisberger and offensive coordinator Todd Haley each believe Rogers is the best slot receiver they’ve had with the Steelers. There are no guarantees after that. DeMarcus Ayers, a seventh-round pick in 2016, began the season on the practice squad before being promoted to the 53-man roster in late December, mainly because the coaches liked his progress. While his numbers were modest — nine catches for 80 yards and a touchdown in four games, counting postseason — he showed enough to offer some promise as an inside receiver for 2017.
Cobi Hamilton has the size (6-2, 205) the Steelers desire but, if Bryant returns, the need for a taller receiver on the outside is diminished. Hamilton had 17 catches and a pair of touchdowns in 11 regular-season games and caught a 30-yard touchdown pass in the blowout loss in the AFC championship game in New England.
“They had their moments for us, positively and negatively,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “Those guys have to continue to grow, get better and find a more consistent level of performance. But that’s the same for all young guys. I’m appreciative of the ground that they covered. At the same time, I’m going to challenge those guys to continue to grow. And I think it’s reasonable to expect that to occur.”