The Buffalo Bills Have Reportedly Won The Antonio Brown Sweepstakes (UPDATE)

Antonio Brown will no longer be a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers, but his new team is certainly a bit of a surprise. The Buffalo Bills reportedly are close to winning the trade sweepstakes for the All-Pro wideout, as the AFC East’s least successful team of the last two decades will get a superstar at a sorely-needed position.

Brown, one of the league’s best players who had a severe falling out with the Steelers over the course of the 2018-19 season, sat out the team’s final game with a playoff spot on the line. Things then deteriorated over the offseason, with Brown airing his grievances about the organization and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger a number of times.

Brown officially requested a trade in January and it was expected that he would be moved by Friday, and word late on Thursday night was that he would be traded to the Bills. The report first came from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, who seemed as surprised as anyone that the Bills would move to acquire the dynamic wide receiver.

Brown is a huge acquisition for Bills and quarterback Josh Allen. A rookie in 2018, he was thrust into the starting role after a series of calamitous starts from Nate Peterman and injuries under center that made it impossible to keep the green gunslinger on the sideline. Bills management feels Allen can be turned into a franchise quarterback, and they traded the pick that became Pat Mahomes for assets that eventually became Allen at the 2018 NFL Draft. But the former University of Wyoming quarterback has struggled with accuracy issues, aided by the Bills systematically removing a receiving target of any kind from the roster over the last two-plus seasons.

Acquiring Brown, regardless of the price, is a huge shift in offensive philosophy and an indication that Allen will be given the tools to succeed with in his sophomore season. Whether Brown can remain patient in what will be an offense sure to struggle whether he’s in it or not is another thing entirely, but if Allen fails in Buffalo, it will no longer be because he wasn’t given anyone to throw to. Other Bills players sure seem excited about Brown, too.

https://twitter.com/TreWhite16/status/1103877932819206152

Perhaps fittingly, the move will come 10 years to the day that the Bills acquired Terrell Owens, the last wide receiver of Brown’s ilk and reputation. That Bills team also was in desperate need of a big target for a young quarterback, but Owens was 35.

Brown, on the other hand, is 30 and looking for a long-term deal from a team that is not the Steelers. It’s a shrewd move for a Pittsburgh team that likely feels it’s stranding a disgruntled player in a hapless franchise, and a big move for a Bills team that needs to make a statement with a young player.

No word on whether Brown will get a key to the city of Buffalo like TO did, but here’s hoping.

UPDATE: Multiple reports early Friday morning indicated that a trade was not so imminent. A reporter from The Buffalo News characterized the trade report as “unlikely” according to a source, and John Wawrow of The Associated Press further cast doubt on the move shortly thereafter.

Brown himself called word of a pending deal “fake news” on Instagram. Rapaport sent out two follow-up tweets early Friday morning that seemed to keep the door open for a trade but also indicated that Brown may have some power in the discussions as well.