Rooney: Hard to envision Brown on Steelers' 2019 roster taken at Rooney Complex (Steelers)

Antonio Brown -- MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

It might not come as a complete surprise, but the Steelers don't expect Antonio Brown on their roster in 2019.

But, as Art Rooney II told the Post-Gazette Thursday, while it's "hard to envision" Brown being with the team in 2019, that's not going to be because the Steelers have released the disgruntled receiver.

Beyond that, Rooney said the team is leaving all of its options open regarding Brown, which would mean the team will likely have to attempt to trade him. But, he's in no hurry.

“There’s not much we can do right now; we have time to make a decision,” Rooney said. “We’ll look at all the options. We’re not going to release him, that’s not on the table. But I will say all other options are on the table.

“Whether the situation can be reconciled and have him back on the team next year, we’re a long way away from thinking that can happen. We’re not closing the door on anything at this point.”

The Steelers cannot officially do anything with Brown before March 13, when the new league year begins. But they likely would want to make a move before he is due a roster bonus of $2.5 million March 17, since the Steelers won't want to pay any more cash to a player who won't be on their roster in 2019. That also would mean the Steelers are prepared to take a $21 million cap hit to not have Brown on their roster in 2019.

“That has to be taken into consideration, but, as I sit here today, I’m not going to say that’s going to box us into anything,” Rooney said. “If we decide something has to be done, we’ll figure out how to deal with that.”

In addition to the $2.5 million roster bonus, Brown is due a base salary of $12.6 million in salary, meaning by trading him, the Steelers would save some $15 million in out-of-pocket expenses. But they also would be without a player who just last spring was voted by his peers as the second-best player in the league, regardless of position.

Brown, however, has refused to respond to any calls or messages sent to him by both Mike Tomlin and Rooney since being sent for an MRI on the Friday before the team's regular season finale Dec. 30 against the Bengals.

Brown, who said he was suffering from knee soreness, skipped that MRI but then showed up prior to the game against the Bengals, even though Tomlin had informed Brown's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, his client was not going to play in that game.

Tomlin said he and Brown spoke briefly before the game, but Brown left before halftime.

Brown had a disagreement with Ben Roethlisberger during a walk-through Wednesday morning of that week, then was held out of practice the rest of the week because of his knee issue. However, Rooney doesn't feel the argument is the only thing driving Brown's stance.

But he doesn't know for sure because Brown hasn't answered his calls.

“My belief is there’s more to it than an incident one day at practice,” Rooney said. “That’s one of the reasons I would have liked to talk to him about it — what it was and how it got to this point.”

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