Mike Tomlin Responds To Steelers Re-Signing Antonio Brown
Mike Tomlin responded to the Steelers re-signing Antonio Brown this week.
Tomlin has been making the media rounds recently. The primary reason has been his vocal defense of backup quarterback Mason Rudolph against racism charges made against him by Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.
During one of his media appearances, Tomlin was asked about former Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown.
Following a messy break-up with his old organization, Brown went on 93.7 The Fan this past month and apologized for everything that had transpired over the past year.
“I apologize to those guys for the distractions, the unwanted attention that I probably caused those guys,” Brown said.
“To the organization. Obviously you want to clear out any baggage or any disrespect or unintended attention that was brought on to the organization.
“These guys gave me an opportunity when I was 21 years old,” he continued.
“I’m forever grateful to those guys, to have the opportunity to not only play with those guys but to be in so many amazing moments. We’ve been through so much. I’m forever grateful and indebted to this organization.”
On Monday, Tomlin appeared on ESPN’s First take to discuss the ongoing war of words between Rudolph and Garrett.
While on the show, Tomlin was asked about Brown’s recent apology and the chances of a reunion.
“I’ll say this: once a Steeler, always a Steeler,” Tomlin said of Brown.
“We had great success over the course of nine-plus years with Antonio. We’re always going to be interested in his growth and development as a man and we’ll be open to assisting him in that, but we have no current business interest at this time.”
Brown has been out of the NFL since September 2019, when he was cut by the New England Patriots over a sexual assault allegation.
Prior to that, he spent the offseason with the then-Oakland Raiders following a trade between Pittsburgh and Oakland.
Over the course of a one-year span in 2019, Brown spent time on three different NFL teams.
While Tomlin was obviously very gentle in his verbiage regarding Brown possibly returning to the Steelers, the overall message he was trying to convey still shined through clearly: Brown is not welcome here.
Over the past few weeks, Brown has repeatedly expressed interest in re-teaming up with Tom Brady. The pair played together or one game this past season, but both seemed to genuinely like one another.
Brady has been linked to the Los Angeles Chargers, Las Vegas Raiders, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans, Dallas Cowboys and Indianapolis Colts throughout the offseason thus far. If he ultimately lands with any of those organizations, it would not be particularly shocking to see him bring Brown with him.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
