San Francisco 49ers tight end George Kittle tweeted toward Antonio Brown last night and the Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver responded.
That's when interpretations started flying around.
Sup? @AB84
— George Kittle (@gkittle46) January 1, 2019
— Antonio Brown (@AB84) January 1, 2019
And then there was cornerback Richard Sherman's reaction to the exchange.
🤔.....🤷🏾♂️....LoL https://t.co/fxwWiwiEAk
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) January 1, 2019
Is Kittle trying to court Brown, who isn't exactly on great terms with the Steelers? The 49ers certainly are in need of a true No. 1 wide receiver — a profile which Brown certainly fits.
Even if general manager John Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan were onboard with the possibility of adding a player like Brown, the receiver has three years remaining on his contract. The Steelers would have to want to part ways with Brown, and because of the way his contract is structured, Pittsburgh would have to eat $21.12 million if they traded or cut him.
So, there's that roadblock.
Then there is the personality issue, which is already being compared to former 49ers wide receiver Terrell Owens. Would Brown even be a good locker room fit in San Francisco? He did not play in Sunday's finale against the Cincinnati Bengals after an altercation with another player and skipping out on multiple team meetings and practices leading up to the game.
Of course, maybe Kittle was just saying hello.
And maybe Brown was really, really flattered.
The Steelers made Brown a sixth-round draft pick out of Central Michigan in 2010. The nine-year veteran has finished each of his past six seasons with over 1,000 receiving yards and done so in seven of his nine NFL seasons. Brown has 11,207 career receiving yards with 74 touchdowns.
