Cardinals not in play to land Steelers WR Antonio Brown

The Arizona Cardinals won’t be trading for Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown, the NFL’s 2018 leader in receiving touchdowns who was placed squarely on the trading block this offseason.

While Arizona has a need at the position, they have not been interested in trading for Brown, according to 98.7 FM Arizona’s Sports Station’s John Gambadoro.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport confirmed Wednesday that the Cardinals are not in the mix to land the 30-year-old Brown after previously mentioning Arizona as one of three teams interested in acquiring him.

Brown is expected to be dealt soon with a $2.5 million roster bonus due to him on March 17. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported a trade could be completed by Friday as the Steelers ready to move on.

Brown is under contract through the 2021 season and if traded before March 17 would be paid a base salary of $12.6 million plus the roster bonus. While that number decreases over the next two seasons, his deal would have hamstrung a Cardinals team anxious to use its cap space wisely as it tries to rebound from a 3-13 season.

The possibility of Brown landing in the desert looked more unlikely over the weekend when Cardinals veteran receiver Larry Fitzgerald said at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference that he didn’t think the receiver was asking out of Pittsburgh in the right way.

“I love AB. Mr. Big Chest is a good friend of mine, but I don’t think he’s going about it the right way, personally,” Fitzgerald said, according to Sporting News. “To be able to play with an all-time quarterback like he’s able to play with (in Ben Roethlisberger), I don’t think he understands how good he has it. It can get tough out there.”

One Cardinal who might’ve enjoyed a union with Brown, who made 104 catches for 1,297 yards last season, was cornerback Patrick Peterson. After Brown formally asked the Steelers for a trade in February, Peterson tweeted at the receiver and told him to “hit my line.”

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