The number of suitors for disgruntled receiver Antonio Brown has continued to grow with the Cardinals and Broncos emerging as potential landing spots.
That brings the number of teams interested in adding the All-Pro receiver to at least six as the Steelers already have fielded preliminary offers from the Raiders, Saints, Titans and Redskins.
The Cardinals, with the first-overall pick in the draft are intriguing, not because they would give up that first pick, but because they also own the first pick in the second through sixth rounds, as well.
Arizona, with new head coach Kliff Kingsbury, has zeroed in on the possibility of selecting Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray with the first pick in the draft, which would be interesting since the Cardinals selected Josh Rosen with the 10th overall pick last year.
The Cardinals would trade Rosen if they believe Murray is their franchise quarterback, giving them at least an additional third-round pick for the quarterback. The Cardinals feel veteran receiver Larry Fitzgerald would be a positive influence on Brown, who also would give Murray another top-notch receiving target.
Over the weekend, Fitzgerald, who is friendly with Brown, spoke out about the situation in Pittsburgh.
"I love AB. Mr. Big Chest is a good friend of mine, but I don't think he's going about it the right way, personally," Fitzgerald said at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. "To be able to play with an all-time quarterback like he's able to play with, I don't think he understands how good he has it. It can get tough out there."
Fitzgerald has played with 19 different quarterbacks during his career, with Murray potentially being the 20th.
The Broncos would be an interesting landing spot, as well, considering Brown took umbrage with former teammate and current Denver receiver Emmanuel Sanders' comments about his situation while serving as a studio analyst during the playoffs.
The two took their argument to Twitter, with Sanders telling Brown this:
@AB84 ???? you know damn well I didn’t travel to LA to talk about you fam. You trippin yo. I went to be a analyst in which you acting foolish was the topic and I gave my analytical opinion. Get off the gas yo. You did it to yourself
— Emmanuel Sanders (@ESanders_10) January 16, 2019
Denver has expressed interest in bringing Sanders back in 2019, but the veteran receiver is due to count $12.97 million against the team's salary cap in 2019 and is coming off a torn Achilles' tendon.
The Broncos own the 10th pick in the first round of the draft and likely wouldn't want to trade that. Denver also has the 41st and 71st picks overall as second- and third-round selections and would likely have to include both in a deal for Brown.
Given the performances that have been put up by some of the potential draft picks at the NFL Scouting Combine over the weekend, Steelers General Manager Kevin Colbert might feel good about the prospect of adding not just a high draft pick, but multiple picks, if that is possible.
The Steelers would still like to have a deal completed by March 17 to avoid any potential issues with a $2.5-million roster bonus Brown is due on that date.
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