Antonio Brown asks Steelers for trade, tells fans it’s ‘time to move on’

Antonio Brown wants out of Pittsburgh. And he’s already saying his goodbyes.

The seven-time Pro Bowl receiver has officially asked for a trade from the Steelers, according to multiple media reports. The request follows several weeks of speculation after Brown was benched for the team’s crucial regular-season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Brown had missed practices and meetings leading up to the game without any contact with the team and has not spoken with anyone with the organization since that game.

Under contract with the Steelers through the 2021 season, Brown took to social media Tuesday to thank Steelers fans and inform them that it’s “time to move on and forward.”

Brown’s post, which also included a video montage of some of his football highlights, came on the same day he was convicted of a summary count of reckless driving after failure to appear for a hearing. Brown’s attorney declined to tell the Allegheny County Magisterial District Court where his client was.

In November, Brown was stopped for speeding over 100 mph in his Porsche, Ross Township police said, just hours before his team played the Carolina Panthers. The conviction carries a $200 fine; he earlier paid a $426.77 fine.

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Brown was a sixth-round draft pick for the Steelers in 2010. He led the league in receptions and receiving yards in 2014 and 2015, and his 15 receiving touchdowns were the best in the NFL in 2018. He was the Steelers’ leading receiver from 2013 to 2017, but his 1,297 yards in 2018 were second to teammate JuJu Smith-Schuster’s 1,426.

In September, Brown responded to a former Steelers employee’s tweet claiming Brown wouldn’t be as successful on another team by tweeting, “Trade me let’s find out.”

Weeks after the final game of the season, Steelers President Art Rooney II said it was “hard to envision” Brown being back with the team for training camp.

“We’ll look at all the options,” Rooney said at the time. “We’re not going to release him, that’s not on the table. But I will say all other options are on the table.”

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Twitter: @chewkiii