PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers still haven’t decided whether there’s a path for wayward wide receiver Antonio Brown to return in 2019.
Not that it matters to Brown. He’s already made up his mind.
A person with knowledge of the situation tells The Associated Press the perennial Pro Bowler has formally asked the Steelers for a trade, the latest move in a game of brinksmanship by the 30-year-old designed to force Pittsburgh to move him by the start of training camp this summer.
Brown appeared to make his decision official in a social media post released Tuesday on Instagram. The video includes highlights from Brown’s career with the Steelers while lyrics from “Do What I Want” by rapper Lil Uzi Vert plays in the background.
“SteelerNation thank you for nine big years!!!” Brown wrote. “Time to move on and move forward.”
The post came shortly after Brown was found guilty in absence on a charge of reckless driving in a suburban Pittsburgh court on Tuesday morning. Brown was charged in November for driving his black sports car over 100 mph in a 45 mph zone. He paid a $426.77 fine. Brown did not attend Tuesday’s hearing.
Brown still has three years remaining on the $72 million contract he signed in the spring of 2017. He is the only player in NFL history with six consecutive 100-catch seasons and he hauled in 104 receptions for 1,297 yards and a franchise-record 15 touchdowns in 2018.
Still, Brown’s behavior became increasingly erratic last fall. The nadir came before Pittsburgh’s game against Cincinnati in Week 17. The team sent him home with an apparent leg injury on the Friday before the game and he failed to provide Coach Mike Tomlin with an update until Sunday morning, when his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, let Tomlin know that Brown was available to play.
DRAFT: Mississippi State defensive lineman Jeffery Simmons, a 6-foot-4, 300-pound potential first-round pick, tore the ACL in his left knee while working out in Florida last weekend.
Simmons recently earned third-team AP All-America honors. He was arrested before he came to Mississippi State in 2016 following a fight in which he was caught on video standing over a woman and punching her. He eventually was found guilty of malicious mischief and pleaded no contest to a simple assault charge.
BILLS: Buffalo signed offensive lineman Spencer Long to a three-year contract a week after the New York Jets cut Long to free up nearly $6.5 million from next season’s salary cap.
The 28-year-old Long has 44 starts in 53 career games over five seasons. He spent his first four seasons in Washington, which selected him in the third round of the 2014 draft out of Nebraska.
TEXANS: Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas, who was traded to Houston last season after a long run in Denver, is set to be released by the Texans, according to the NFL Network.
The move comes after the 31-year-old receiver suffered a season-ending Achilles tear. Thomas finished the 2018 season with 59 catches for 677 yards and five touchdowns, with only 23 of those catches coming in seven games with the Texans.
The Patriots were reportedly in the mix for Thomas at the trade deadline.
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