What the hell happened between Antonio Brown and the Bills?

Let’s catch up on the latest AB drama, shall we?

All it took was a few hours to sum up the entire Antonio Brown saga in Pittsburgh. Overnight, Brown went from almost getting dealt to the Buffalo Bills to spending another day with the Steelers.

News broke late Thursday evening the All-Pro wideout would be a veteran boost for the Bills’ budding passing attack. But by the time the calendar flipped to Friday, any alleged deal between the teams had been scuttled.

Was a Brown-to-Buffalo deal really close? Did Brown quash it? Was this all a ploy for the Steelers to remind Brown that life could be so much worse and that he should forgive and forget and come back to them?

Dunno. All we do know is that this might be the kind of wonderfully absurd story this NFL offseason needs.

For now, let’s catch you up on what you might have missed if you were a healthy human being who was sleeping during Brown’s almost-tenure with the Bills that lasted from, approximately, 11:30 p.m. to 7:46 a.m. ET.

So what’s all this about Brown and the Bills?

Late on Thursday night, Ian Rapoport — a connected, reliable NFL Media reporter — said that the Steelers were close to trading their disgruntled star receiver to the Buffalo Bills:

Which was a surprise — the Raiders had been the favorites and the Bills hadn’t been involved in any of the latest rumors.

Soon after Rapoport’s tweet, Brown said it wasn’t true.

Then, longtime Bills beat writer Vic Carucci — another credible reporter — disputed it:

As did John Wawrow of the Associated Press:

Even so, we were all waiting for ESPN’s Adam Schefter to chime in. Surely he wasn’t sleeping, right?

Lol, like Schefter sleeps. He finally broke his silence a little after 3 a.m. ET, like the breaking news cyborg he is:

So, after all those dueling reports, Brown remained with the Steelers, at least for the moment. And perhaps it was Brown’s reticence to move to western New York and play for 2018’s 31st-ranked passing offense played a big role in shutting talks down.

That, too, has been rebutted:

What we do know is what the Bills have said: they’re no longer pursuing Brown, whether the hang up was because of compensation or because Brown would’ve pulled a Vontae Davis and retire rather than play in Buffalo.

And if you were expecting a resolution before this weekend so you could go watch Captain Marvel in peace, well, that might not happen:

Or maybe it will!

Lmao, the NFL is so ridiculous sometimes.

Why are Brown and the Steelers on a break anyway?

Frustrations between the two sides simmered throughout a dysfunctional 2018 and boiled over as the season wore on. The team seemed to rebound from Le’Veon Bell’s season-long holdout and a 1-2-1 start en route to a spot atop the AFC North, but a 2-4 finish ended the team’s four-year postseason streak and handed the division crown to its arch rival Baltimore Ravens.

Brown finished the year with a typically great 104-catch, 1,297-yard performance, but he wasn’t blameless in his team’s struggles. He stormed out of practice before a Week 17 showdown against the Bengals, and was held out of the game after missing a string of team activities leading up to the season finale.

Reports on the situation ranged from “embarrassing” to there not being a situation. But Brown remained annoyed, removing all Steelers references from his social media profiles in January before requesting a trade in February.

Pittsburgh wasn’t interested in releasing its star wideout, instead opting to recoup some value after it became clear his relationship with the club was beyond saving. That’s a positive, because the Steelers can only save roughly $1 million by removing Brown from their salary cap:

That was deemed enough of a reward to facilitate a clean break from a disappointing 2018. While Pittsburgh tried to settle its differences with the All-Pro, a last-ditch meeting between Brown and team owner Art Rooney only reinforced the two sides needed a separation.

Shortly after that, Brown also aired some of his grievances on LeBron James’ show, The Shop:

Trade talks heated up around the same time as the NFL Combine, with the Raidersclocking in as early favorites to re-home the rescued wide receiver. The Jets, Cardinals, and Broncos were also a part of the discussion, though those teams seem to be out of it. For now. Who knows.

Where do the Steelers go from here?

Let’s say that the Steelers and Brown can’t work things out and they find a trade partner, at the price they want. General manager Kevin Colbert has already made it clear the Steelers will only trade Brown if the compensation is right.

Without Brown, they’d look different, that’s for sure. The 2016 Steelers earned a spot in the AFC Championship Game behind the combination of Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown, and Le’Veon Bell. The 2019 Steelers will only have the oldest member of that triad. Bell sat out 2018 to protest the team’s decision to use the franchise tag on him for a second straight season. He will now be a free agent.

That would leave a 37-year-old Roethlisberger to rebuild his empire as his career inches toward a sunset, but he’s got enough talent around him to reload quickly. JuJu Smith-Schuster emerged as a true No. 1 wideout after leading the team with 111 receptions and 1,426 receiving yards. Third-year tailback James Conner was able to replicate much of what Bell brings to the table after scoring 13 touchdowns in 13 games, catching 55 passes, and rushing for 4.5 yards per carry.

Pittsburgh could use the 2019 offseason to buttress that pair with talent. Jaylen Samuels was a capable platoon back behind Conner, but the team’s receiving corps are perilously thin after Smith-Schuster. The team’s most-targeted wideout behind him was Ryan Switzer, who had 36 catches for just 253 yards in his second season as a pro. 2018 second-round pick James Washington could be pushed into a bigger role, but he caught just 42 percent of his targets as a rookie.

What will Brown bring to whichever team trades for him, assuming that actually happens one of these days?

Brown would be an expensive acquisition thanks to eight figure base salaries from 2019 to 2021. But much of the cost of his four-year, $68 million extension was borne by the Steelers, which actually makes him fairly affordable — he’d be owed a little more than $36 million for the next three years, which would put him more or less among the top 20 highest-paid receivers over that stretch.

That could be a bargain, or it could be an overpay. Brown hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down over the past six seasons. He’s had at least 101 catches, 1,284 yards, and eight touchdowns in each of those years — a span that may go down as the greatest in league history. He led the league in 2018 with 15 touchdown receptions in 15 games.

But Brown is on the wrong side of 30, and he’ll wrap up his current contract in his age-33 season. He’s also got a ton of miles under his belt, and a decline could be steep.

Brown has used crisp routes and twitchy athleticism to create separation and embarrass defenders with his 5’10 frame. What happens when he loses some of that lateral speed as he ages? Similarly prolific receivers like Jerry Rice, Larry Fitzgerald, and Terrell Owens were able punish cornerbacks into their 30s — but they were all at least four inches taller than Brown.

That’s what would make this a risk any team. Brown is one of the most accomplished players in the game, but his clock is ticking. The five-time All-Pro may still have some elite years in front of him. He may also be aging down from “great” to “good.”

A new team will likely take its chances on Brown before too long. But stay tuned. It took less than one sleep cycle for Brown to go from a slam-dunk to a longshot addition for the Bills. Who knows what the next 24 hours will bring in the Antonio Brown soap opera.