The offseason had something to look forward to every morning and that was one Antonio Brown
I’m going to go off on a limb and say the market for Brandon Aiyuk slowly drying up. It’s not gone, but the options are certainly limiting themselves. The entire trade thing is strange, however. Instagram posts, cryptic answers to questions, follows unfollows. The 49ers are the center of it all.
Kinda reminiscent of another time. A “watch” if you will. Instead of the Steelers inquiring about Aiyuk and Aiyuk posting some cryptic responses, it was the Steelers who had their own trade issues. A hopeful 49ers wide receiver. His name: Antonio Brown.
See, there were two wide receivers the 49ers were connected to (and not counting Emmanuel Sanders who the 49ers were reported to be interested in around this time). One of them was Odell Beckham Jr., but logic said that wasn’t going to happen. Well, at the time. The other was Antonio Brown, who, after receiving a harmless tweet from George Kittle, ignited what became Antonio Brown Watch. This was an event unlike anything else. Even Michael Jackson didn’t get this much publicity.
The whole thing stemmed from some issues with Brown and the Pittsburgh Steelers. What followed was…well…something else. He wound up holding a 10-question AMA (which he only answered six questions of), demanded we all call him Mr. Big Chest, and the source of admiration for Jerry Rice.
The 2019 offseason was weird, y’all.
The big thing was a countdown. Brown was due a $2.5 million roster bonus, which kicked in on March 17. With that, you knew that the entire month was going to be a “will he or won’t he” must-see blogging action. And boy did it not disappoint. Just look at the above.
Brown Mr. Big Chest eventually was traded to the Oakland Raiders, signed a huge extension, a target of jokes from yours truly, considering the Raiders already lost the Khalil Mack trade (you know, because the Bears got Khalil Mack). It ended just as glorious as it began, with Brown Mr. Big Chest getting frostbitten feet, released from the Raiders, picked up by the Patriots, then legal trouble not getting him past Week 3 in the NFL.
And now he’s out of the league. It was a weird, weird turn of events.
Brown Mr. Big Chest can still be followed, in all his ridiculousness on X. I don’t know what he’s talking about, and I don’t think he does either. All I know is that the 2019 offseason was strange but gave us a steady stream of material to keep things going for a few months while everyone is restless for football.
Now we’re in Brandon Aiyuk watch. Will he or won’t he? Will a deal get done. Ugh, these situations are better when the 49ers are the ones making the calls rather than taking them.
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