Antonio Brown Takes No Blame for Fallout With Steelers

Brown said he believes the Steelers will trade him because it's "what's good for their business."

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown doesn't believe he's to blame for the breakdown of his relationship with the franchise.

In an extensive interview with ESPN's Jeff Darlington, Brown discussed the tensions with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, coach Mike Tomlin and Steelers' ownership that led to his trade request on Feb. 12.

"I don't take any blame," Brown told Darlington. "I just think I took responsibility for my situation. You know, I didn't point the finger. I didn't make no one look bad. I didn't throw no stones at anyone."

Brown is officially on the trading block after meeting with the Steelers in Florida. Both sides decided it would be best if Brown moved on after nine seasons with the team. The Washington Redskins, Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans are three teams who have already expressed interest.

When asked what he believed went wrong this season, Brown said he believed there was a disconnect with team ownership.

"Sometimes things are bigger than just my issues, you know?," Brown said. "If you work for me for nine years, wouldn't you expect you to know my girlfriend's name or my dad's name or my kid or, you know, would you expect me to meet your kid or at least know you on the level of some sort of integrity to know, like, 'Hey, man, I appreciate what you do.'" 

Brown added that he believes he'll be traded because the Steelers can avoid paying him a $2.5 million roster bonus by trading or releasing him before March 17.

"Why wouldn't they not trade me? They gotta pay me $2.5 million on March 17," he said. "If I invoice you March 17, $2.5 million that you gotta pay me, would you pay it or would you get somebody else to pay it? So it's what -- pretty much what's good for their business...They want to start a fresh offseason with no bad blood so their team could just focus on football. No distraction from any player. So I think they'll get it done."

During Pittsburgh's 2018 season, Brown had 104 catches for 1,297 yards and scored 15 touchdowns.