Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin denied reports that Antonio Brown has requested to be traded and said the Steelers would handle the star receiver’s absence from the team as an in-house matter.
Tomlin says he decided not to play Brown in Sunday’s must-win season finale against the Bengals because the two had a “lack of communication” in the days leading up to the game.
Asked Wednesday if he thought Brown quit on the Steelers, Tomlin responded that “you can call it what you want to call it.”
Tomlin, speaking at his end-of-season news conference, said Brown had soreness in his knee, ankle and feet last week. Brown was sent for an MRI on the knee Friday, but he did not show up for the examination and the team couldn’t reach him after that.
Tomlin said he was an “active participant” in trying to get in contact with Brown, who also skipped Saturday’s walk-through.
Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, contacted Tomlin on Sunday morning to inform the coach that his client could play against the Bengals. But Tomlin would not play Brown at that point.
Tomlin could not confirm reports that Brown left the stadium during the game and said the two have not communicated since Sunday.
Brown hasn’t commented publicly on the situation, but he did tweet a seemingly inspirational message Wednesday.
Happy New Year. Be great. pic.twitter.com/QLna1LRncL
— Antonio Brown (@AB84) January 2, 2019