Antonio Brown's fate ultimately lies in the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The wide receiver, however, continues to campaign to join the San Francisco 49ers. He has followed the team, its players, liked and shared social media posts that push the Brown-to-49ers agenda, and had a dialogue with Hall of Fame wide receiver Jerry Rice on the topic.
Brown on Friday continued to share his desire to land in San Francisco by posting a photoshopped image of himself, in a 49ers uniform, embracing Rice. It also featured a quote from Rice during a recent conversation on 95.7 The Game that read, "If you got a player like that, that you can get that can really add to the offense, you have to go for it."
The 49ers cannot publicly discuss Brown.
"I'm not allowed to talk about someone who's under contract," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday when asked about the disgruntled receiver.
General manager John Lynch, however, acknowledged the need to add playmakers around quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, who is returning from a torn ACL, but did not bring up Brown specifically.
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"We've got to continue to add playmakers around [Garoppolo]," Lynch continued. "We've got some special playmakers. It's going to be nice to have Jerick McKinnon back. We spent a lot of money on him because we believed in him. (We will) put him out there with (George) Kittle and the guys, and the Marquise Goodwins, and continue to add to that."
Trade talks for Brown are expected to heat up at the NFL Scouting Combine in February with reports that the Steelers are hoping for a first-round draft pick in exchange for the four-time first-team All-Pro receiver and seven-time Pro Bowl selection. Pro Football Talk, however, reported on Thursday that the Steelers aren't getting the type of offers they initially expected as they feel things out this week at the Senior Bowl.
It sounds like the Steelers aren't getting the offers they expected to get for Antonio Brown.
— ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) January 24, 2019
No trades can become official until the start of the new league year on March 13.
H/t to Patrick Tulini for the find.