Seahawks Signing Antonio Brown Would be a Nightmare for 49ers

You put Brown in that lineup and you might as well hand the MVP trophy to Wilson.

Antonio Brown is still an unrestricted free agent. 

The reason teams were avoiding him was because of his pending suspension that the NFL was going to hand him. Better to let him get suspended as a free agent than to be on the hook for the cash they give him up front. Eight games is the magic number of games that Brown will be suspended for. Once his eight games are up, he will be free to sign with any team who’s interested in the former All Pro wide receiver. 

One team that is already being pegged as a favorite to sign him is the Seattle Seahawks for various reasons. The main reason is his ties with Russell Wilson. Seattle could very well recognize that and sign Brown. 

If this ends up becoming a reality, it would be a nightmare for the San Francisco 49ers. 

Seattle’s offense with Wilson alone was already a nuisance to go up against. So long as he is the quarterback for the Seahawks, the 49ers can never overlook them. Even in Week 17 when the 49ers were beating down the Seahawks for three quarters, Seattle still mustered a comeback to draw it out on the final play. In fact, had the Seahawks not try to get all cute by forcing Marshawn Lynch into the rotation which caused a delay of game penalty, then they possibly would have been the 2019 NFC West champions. 

Just imagine adding Brown to that roster. 

Seattle’s receiver group is already strong with Tyler Lockett and D.K. Metcalf. You put Brown in that lineup and you might as well hand the MVP trophy to Wilson. The defense of the 49ers is elite - one of the best in the game. But even their defense doesn’t have the necessary depth to cover all three wide outs, especially a player of Brown’s caliber. 

Richard Sherman would easily get burnt, Emmanuel Moseley would get spun like a top, and Ahkello Witherspoon... well let’s not go there. K’Waun Williams might be the best guy to cover Brown since he has no issue with getting aggressive. I know the 49ers do not run man coverage often, but there are ways to “beat your man” playing zone by manipulating him. Defensive coordinator Robert Saleh himself would even admit to scheming against Brown because of his skills and ability to play inside and out. 

The 49ers would still have the overall edge against the Seahawks, but adding Brown puts that matchup on another planet. He could be the wild card that they add midseason when his suspension is up to push them closer a higher seed, if not challenge the 49ers for the division title. 

Of course, this all will only occur if there is interest from both sides. A lot can happen through eight games in a season. For all we know, it could be the 49ers that go in on Brown if they get bitten by the injury bug again. 

Or it could be a way to keep away from joining up with Seattle. Either way, this makes for great anticipation when Brown’s suspension is finished.