Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown has reportedly requested a trade, according to NFL insider Jason La Canfora.
Brown did not play in the Steelers’ must-win Week 17 matchup, and while the team’s injury report on Thursday listed the star receiver as having a knee injury, reports began to surface that it was actually a dispute between Brown and a teammate that led to his absence.
Per The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Brown was benched “because he elected to sit out practice last week after a dispute with Ben Roethlisberger.”
After skipping practice, Brown was also absent from Saturday’s team meetings and even reportedly left Heinz Field at halftime of Sunday’s season finale.
The Steelers defeated the Bengals Sunday after losing grip of their playoff hopes, but the Baltimore Ravens’ win over the Cleveland Browns saw the club’s season end without a ticket to the post-season.
Pittsburgh has been no stranger to drama this season, with running back Le’Veon Bell sitting out the entire campaign due to a contract dispute. Brown was previously involved in a confrontation with the media during which he responded “Trade me let’s find out” after what he believed was unfair criticism from a former staffer.
Brown led the league in receiving touchdowns (15) in 2018. His 104 receptions for 1297 yards ranks him second on the team in both categories behind JuJu Smith-Schuster.
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