It doesn’t look like the Pittsburgh Steelers will accept former receiver Antonio Brown’s offer to play for them for free anytime soon.
Pittsburgh suffered a tough road loss in snowy Cleveland, Ohio, against the rival Browns on Thursday night.
After the game, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin answered questions from the media about the outcome, but one reporter decided to ask about a tweet Brown posted earlier that day.
Brown, the controversial former Steelers receiver, posted: “There is still an offer to come back and play for the Steelers for free to finish the season.”
He even tweeted: “Someone in the media at the Steelers vs Browns game… please ask Mike Tomlin about AB returning for free after the game,” saying that whoever did so would be named his “Cracker of the Day” on Friday.
Tomlin decided to dignify Brown’s offer (and the reporter’s question) by simply walking away from the microphone.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin walked away from the podium after being asked a question about former Pittsburgh wide receiver Antonio Brown on Thursday night.
Brown, who has not played since 2021, offered to play for free with Pittsburgh this season
Interestingly, even after his offer was so quickly and completely rejected, Brown posted a video of the interaction on his own Twitter account.
Brown hasn’t played in the NFL in two seasons since he threw a tantrum at MetLife Stadium in a game against the New York Jets: he took off his uniform and walked out of the arena.
Since then, he has retired, not retired, retired again, retired again, with the most recent turn coming with his tweet wanting to play for Pittsburgh again.
At that time, he also bought an American football team in Albany, New York, and sank it after Brown failed to pay dues and fines he owed the National Arena League.
Brown also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in May, reporting that he owed $2.93 million to creditors, including a $1.2 million debt that arose from a January 2020 lawsuit over an assault.
As for the Steelers, this is only their third loss of the season, after winning five in a row.
Pittsburgh will next play the Cincinnati Bengals on the road on December 1.