The Pittsburgh Steelers have had to deal with their fair share of drama this season, but somehow remain in the hunt for an AFC Wildcard spot with Mason Rudolph filling in as their third quarterback of the year.
It seems like the Steelers always have a controversial wide receiver who creates chaos on the sideline and in the locker room while making headlines for all the wrong reasons.
While the days of Antonio Brown’s antics feel like a distant memory in Pittsburgh, the Steelers have had their faire share of issues with second-year WR George Pickens this season.
Following the Steelers’ 20-16 win versus the Tennessee Titans on November 2nd, receiver George Pickens took to social media to voice his frustration after a two-catch, -1-yard performance.
This wasn’t the first time Pickens had taken to social media to voice any frustration. Following Pittsburgh’s embarrassing 30-7 loss on opening night versus the 49ers, Pickens liked an Instagram comment that highlighted the team’s struggles at the quarterback position.
Head coach Mike Tomlin met with Pickens ahead of the team’s matchup vs. the Cincinnati Bengals.
I thought he was better but still has, obviously, room for continued improvement.
It almost feels since Antonio Brown left, the Steelers have been cursed with dramatic wideouts.
Fellow Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson has also had his share of internal problems within the team this season. Reports stated that Johnson was “held back” by rookie tackle Broderick Jones in an altercation with a Pittsburgh Steelers coach. The incident took place during Pittsburgh’s second matchup versus Cleveland on November 19th.
The following week versus the Cincinnati Bengals would see Diontae Johnson tied into more drama. Running back Jaylin Warren fumbled the ball near Johnson on a Steelers offensive drive. Johnson could be seen waking near the live ball, displaying a lack of effort in the middle of a play.
Somehow, Tomlin has kept the Steelers together and Pickens thrived in last week’s must-win game over the Bengals.
Meanwhile, Brown — who hasn’t been in the NFL since his public meltdown with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — continues to draw attention to himself for the wrong reasons.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown Takes Random Shot At Mike Florio
While Pro Football Talk founder and NFL analyst Mike Florio was in the headlines earlier this week after the Ravens beat the 49ers and completely dismantled his take that Baltimore “didn’t stand a chance in hell,” that story is old news at this point.
Yet still, Antonio Brown — without any context — decided to take to Twitter on Friday night and take a racist jab at Florio.
“Mike Florio don’t know“Mike Florio don’t know s** about pro football stupid ahh Cracker,” Brown said on X
Again, this isn’t surprising considering Brown’s outlandish behavior time and time again. It started during his final years with the Pittsburgh Steelers and has only progressed since. He literally just posted a racist tweet on Christmas Eve.
For context, after the Ravens win over the 49ers, Lamar Jackson directly addressed Mike Florio’s comments.
“We in the NFL and we play ball, so not to discredit that team, but you can’t just take that away from us,” Jackson said.
“ I’m a grown man we got to feed our family, I mean he can have his opinion. But just don’t go talking like that. It’s disrespectful.
Not to take away from the 49ers at all, but we got a great record as well, We came to play ball. We aren’t a fluke. And we showed that, so he can keep doing his job, but just don’t come off like that towards us that disrespectful like I said. Because he ain’t the one putting the pads on, If he would have put the pads on I feel like he wouldn’t be saying that, it would be different for him. I say that to say this.
We are respectful to our opponents, our opponents are respectful to us, so a guy who’s not even playing to come out and be disrespectful to us for no reason, I guess he wants more views on his little channel. I’m going to leave it at that.”
It’s clear Florio was dead wrong in his prediction and Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens proved they are one of the top teams in the league.
The Pro Football Talk founder and host did take the high road and apologized to Jackson and the Ravens after he was called out.
Still, it’s beyond odd for Brown to suddenly make a racist attack aimed at the Pro Football Talk, without any context, four days after the fact.
And while Florio may have had a wrong bold take, he’s been one of the most respected members in the NFL for a long time, so it’s safe to say he knows a thing or two about football.
The former Steelers star receiver has steadily declined since he left the franchise and this is just the latest example that he either has mental health issues which shouldn’t be taken lightly, or is just a bad human being who craves attention.
