What teams might acquire Antonio Brown before NFL Free Agency?

The Jets, Broncos, and Cardinals are out on Pittsburgh Steelers star receiver Antonio Brown. Which teams are in the mix to acquire him?

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown is going to have a new team, likely on the Friday before the start of NFL Free Agency.

Let the games begin.

According to Adam Schefter and ESPN and Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, a deal for Brown is expected to be in place and finalized by Friday.

According to these reports and other reports and sources around the league, the New York Jets, Arizona Cardinals, and Denver Broncos are out in the sweepstakes to acquire Brown’s services.

The Steelers didn’t rule this out, but you can just about guarantee the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, and Cincinnati Bengals aren’t getting Brown either.

To keep competitive balance in the AFC, I seriously doubt the New England Patriots are going to be able to out-bid the other teams interested in Brown, either.

So where in the NFL is this guy going to land?

I have a theory, so hear me out. I think the team that trades for Brown is also going to be in pursuit of Le’Veon Bell. I’m not the first person to hypothesize that by any means. As a matter of fact, it was reported by NFL Insider Benjamin Allbright that the Raiders’ pipe dream is to acquire Brown, Bell, and Kyler Murray.

In that report, the Oakland Raiders are the ones considered ‘leading’ candidates to land Brown. What other teams might make sense?

Let’s take a look at some other squads who could be interested in Brown as a standalone, or perhaps teams that would want Brown and Bell as a packaged deal, and would trade for Brown before free agency to lure Bell.

Oakland Raiders

This one is obvious, and I think the Raiders can pull off getting both Brown and Bell for sure. That would certainly add some dramatic flare to Derek Carr’s life, and would be an interesting power dynamic between those strong personalities on (and off) the field along with Jon Gruden’s.

I’m not saying it wouldn’t be able to work out with the Raiders here, but it would bear monitoring as one of the most combustible situations in the NFL.

Indianapolis Colts

Again, to keep the competitive balance in the AFC, I don’t know if this would happen. The Steelers see as well as anyone that the Colts are a team on the rise, and adding Brown and/or Le’Veon Bell with the way Andrew Luck is playing would put every other AFC West team in the dirt.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles are working hard to clear cap space, converting some of Lane Johnson’s contract to bonuses and extending Jason Kelce.

Could that cap space be to add a dynamic piece like Brown? The Eagles are one of the teams rumored to be interested in Le’Veon Bell, and they could cut/trade a number of other players to make this kind of thing work out financially.

They are rumored to be making Michael Bennett and Nelson Agholor available for trade.

San Francisco 49ers

The 49ers make sense for Brown, not Bell, but they could be the ideal landing spot as they are in the NFC, have a ton of cap space, have strong draft capital, and a need for a dynamic receiver.

Green Bay Packers

The Packers have the cap space and a new approach from their front office which could include an aggressive move like this.

Green Bay let Jordy Nelson go last offseason. They are going to let Randall Cobb walk this offseason. Their offense has playmakers in the passing game but Antonio Brown would be some kind of upgrade for them.

Aaron Rodgers has a massive contract but the Packers need to strike while the iron’s hot there.