Steelers drama reaching new levels with Antonio Brown

Another day, another drama-filled episode of Steelers football.

The latest incident involves All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown being a no-show for work on Monday, according to The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

On Tuesday, head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed that Brown was absent Monday, and it doesn’t sound like it was an excused absence.

“He was not,” Tomlin said of Brown during his weekly press conference. “I’m looking forward to visiting with him today and discussing that and other things.”

This comes after Brown actually had an incident on Twitter in which he said “trade me” to a fan questioning his true value to Pittsburgh.

There really is no question Brown is the best receiver in the game, but he’s also one of the biggest divas in the NFL. To this point in Brown’s career, the good has greatly outweighed the bad for the Steelers, but for a team now 0-1-1, his antics are magnifying how bad things are in Pittsburgh right now.

Le’Veon Bell is still away from the team after not getting a the long-term contract extension and subsequent payday he wanted, but Pittsburgh still scored 37 points in a five-point loss to the Chiefs in Week 2.

The issues this preseason AFC North favorite has go well beyond Brown’s off-field antics, but they are certainly not making things easier for the win-less Steelers.

Meanwhile, the Bengals are 2-0 and have a chance to effectively take a three-game lead over their division rivals with a win over the Panthers and a Steelers loss at Tampa Bay in Week 3, which is very possible.

Who would have ever guessed that scenario would even be possible after two weeks?

We’re not even a quarter of the way through the season, but a three-game lead even this early would prove very challenging for Pittsburgh to overcome.