One player took a jab back at a critic on social media following the Steelers' 42-37 loss Sunday to the Chiefs. Another said trade him away and find out if another critic -- this one a former Steelers employee -- was right about his assessment.
Social media has once again become an issue for the Steelers, just as it did a year ago when Martavis Bryant was suspended for a game for making statements on a platform about JuJu Smith-Schuster.
First it was outside linebacker Bud Dupree responding to a "fan" who made a crude remark to him. Then it was Antonio Brown posting this statement on Twitter to a former Steelers public relations employee after that employee said Ben Roethlisberger had made his career:
Trade me let’s find out https://t.co/4OeepI78zy
— Antonio Brown (@AB84) September 17, 2018
It's all just outside noise to the majority of the Steelers players.
"I don't listen to it," All-Pro guard David DeCastro said. "I don't think most guys worry about it. It's just part of life in the NFL. It's that added drama that has become a part of the entertainment. It almost feels like it's become bigger than the game, which is kind of sad to me. I've always thought the game was more important. I love the game. It's kind of sad to see. I still love the game and still enjoy playing it. I don't even worry about it. I don't pay attention."
Some of Brown's other teammates texted the former employee, Ryan Scarpino, whom Cam Heyward called "butt hurt," over the incident.
For DeCastro, none of it matters, other than the concern he has for the future.
"It's just a weird dynamic, social media and society these days," DeCastro said. "I just stay off of it. If I want to talk to someone, I'll communicate face to face with them. I think it's a weird way of communicating. It's weird the path society is going now. Everyone thinks their opinion matters and then they get in fights with people. I really don't. Maybe I'm just a weirdo."
Brown's latest incident came after he was in a heated discussion with first-year offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner on the sideline during Sunday's loss. Brown had nine receptions in the game but for only 67 yards as the Chiefs blanketed him throughout the game with double coverages.
Brown has gotten off to a slow start this season despite being targeted 33 times in the first two games. He has 18 receptions, but for just 160 yards and one touchdown as the team has gotten off to an 0-1-1 start.
Roethlisberger's passer rating is 65.2 when targeting Brown, while his completion percentage is just 54.5 and he's averaging just 4.8 yards per attempt.
Nobody thinks Brown wants to be traded. They just think he was goaded into a statement some will take the wrong way. He's frustrated, but no more so than anyone else on the team with its slow start.
And the bad reactions to it from the fan base just don't happen on social media.
"I went to (a restaurant) and the waitress was a fan of Kansas City," Heyward said. "She kept going on, 'I'm glad that Kansas City won.' I'm like, 'Are you kidding me?' My wife was laughing at me. She said, 'She must not know.' I gave her an adequate tip."
Fans can be cruel. After he failed to come up with a pass that would have tied a game in Baltimore a few years ago, former Steelers receiver Emmanuel Sanders was lambasted on Twitter. Fans called him all sorts of names and told him he should "die." We know this because Sanders simply re-tweeted each and every offensive post.
Players can't stay in their homes and hide from bad performances. They do have to own them. But they can make a choice to stay off social media.
That's what DeCastro wishes they would do.
"I think it would be a lot easier for all of us to worry about football," he said. "It's the day and age. Can you have a kid grow up without a cell phone and social media? Would he be ostracized and bullied because he doesn't have social media? I have a kid. You think about raising a kid in this day and age and you kind of worry about that kind of stuff. It's a scary kind of new frontier."