Pittsburgh Steelers: What we’ve learned from #AskAB Twitter answers

Antonio Brown is four questions through his #AskAB Twitter talk and so far he hasn’t held back when talking about the Pittsburgh Steelers.

So far, we haven’t learned much that we didn’t already know. Antonio Brown felt disrespected by Ben Roethlisberger, he wants to play for someone who treats him well, the usual. All things he or someone he’s spoken to has said already.

But that isn’t all he’s said. Brown has made points no one really thought about before, or at least didn’t care to. Maybe not everyone is taking his words the same way. Some of them are so hard to depict that not everyone even knows what he’s saying. When you put his words together, though, you learn some things from AB’s side.

Ben didn’t give “mutual respect”

Brown isn’t upset that he and Ben Roethlisberger couldn’t be perfect all the time. He never said that Ben wasn’t a great player but he did say that he didn’t treat his teammates as well as they treated him.

Saying Roethlisberger has a “owner’s mentality,” Brown revealed that his quarterback is a big reason he’s headed somewhere new.

What stands out is “mutual.” Brown always praised his quarterback when speaking to the media, even after Roethlisberger would publicly criticize him. Eventually, that seemed to be too much for AB to handle.

Ben’s leadership ways should be changing. He’s caused a few issues within the locker room after speaking about his teammates and moving forward it may be an aspect of his leadership that changes for the better.

As some of the guys at Still Curtain pointed out, Roethlisberger is an old school player with old school ways. He isn’t used to handling his team with caution, but with a new group of guys around him maybe he should.

Art Rooney II has never invited AB to his home

Brown must have felt pretty disrespected by Rooney never inviting him over for dinner because he called him out on Twitter. Saying this is the first time the owner is going to speak with “Antonio Brown the man” instead of “AB84 the player,” Brown points out that the two have never spent time off the field.

Truthfully, this needs a backstory before people judge anything. Who has been invited to Rooney’s home before? Has Ben? Has former players? If people are getting calls from Rooney to go enjoy some wine and a steak and Brown hasn’t, in nine years, than it’s an issue.

If no one ever gets invited to Rooney’s home than why are we talking about this? Most people don’t go enjoy free time with their employer. Yes, Rooney and AB are in a much different situation than most jobs, but it’s still not something to leave a franchise for.

I’m sure Mike Tomlin has invited his players over before. Is that not enough?

Antonio Brown didn’t quit on anyone

There are two sides to every story and Antonio Brown has told his about his missed time during the final week of the season. Brown tweeted that he didn’t give up on his team but instead was healing some bumps and bruises. Meanwhile, he said Tomlin depicted Brown as evil for doing so.

Here’s the thing with this one – Brown is an NFL player who’s heading into the final game of the regular season on a team who needs to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. Not only did he not show up for practice or game prep but he didn’t even call.

People would have a much easier time believing Brown’s side of this story if he didn’t vanish and have his agent call Tomlin on Saturday. That’s not how the NFL works. Bumps and bruises are part of the game and the Steelers have an entire training staff to deal with injuries. There was no need to go MIA for a whole week.

Maybe Brown didn’t quit on his team but he went about it in the poorest manner possible. Again, we weren’t there but AB’s side to this one doesn’t seem to cover anything up.

AB is not moving for the money

It was hard to image Antonio Brown only leaving for a contract extension anyways but now he’s made it known it’s untrue. Rumors started that Brown was interested in signing a new deal once dealt and maybe that’s true, but it’s not the reason he wants out.

There are too many other issues surrounding this story to believe Brown wants out to get more money. He makes a pretty good point by saying he’s already made $70 million. Really, how much more does a ringless 30-year-old need?

This is about locker room issues and nothing else. AB might try and get a new deal done with whoever trades for him but it’s not the reason he’s taking off.

The remaining question is what kind of contract is he looking for? Because his old money is hard enough to cover let alone something more.

Brown’s time in Pittsburgh is over

AB has nothing but love for Steelers Nation, but with all the drama happening his time with the team is over. At least that’s what he said.

It’s been a long and tiring offseason for everyone covering the Antonio Brown, Steelers headlines, so you can only imagine living inside it. Brown may love to see his name in the paper but he’s not changing his mind to keep himself relevant in this situation.

AB wants out and he’s going to get it. No matter how much love he has for the fans, which he constantly expresses, he has no intentions of staying with the Steelers moving forward.