Steelers GM Kevin Colbert Reiterates That an Antonio Brown Reunion is Never Going to Happen

Just in case anyone was still wondering, Antonio Brown will never be a Pittsburgh Steeler again. General manager Kevin Colbert made that point clear on Tuesday despite the All-Pro wideout's recent attempts to make nice with Ben Roethlisberger.

In an interview with PFT Live, Colbert was asked about Brown and only had charitable things to say about his former wide receiver. He also said that he and the rest of the organization have moved on from Brown over the past year, and that a reunion with the controversial pass-catcher isn't in the cards.

“Antonio Brown will always be a Pittsburgh Steeler in our minds from that personal standpoint,” Colbert said. “We’ll always be there to support him when he needs help, if he needs help, and that will never change. But as Antonio Brown, 84, AB, the football player? No, we’ve moved on from that, and we’re comfortable with that."

After forcing a trade out of Pittsburgh last offseason, Brown was supposed to be an Oakland Raider in 2019 but didn't even make it out of training camp. After being released cut by Oakland in August, Brown went to the one place that would all-but bury any fondness Steelers fans may have preserved for him to that point: The New England Patriots.

“When we had Antonio, Antonio was the best worker on our practice field, the most competitive guy on the game field,” Colbert said. “There was never any question about that, and we knew Antonio Brown the person as well. We tried to help him grow as a professional football player, and he did during his time with us. What happened after that I really can’t address, because I don’t know all the day-in, day-out issues. But we know, and he knows, that he will always be one of us, and we’re always going to be there to support him.”

Since his departure from Pittsburgh, Brown's reputation has steeply declined. He only played in one game in 2019, and endured a public meltdown that was low-lighted by allegations of sexual assault, an Instagram live stream of a confrontation between himself and police officers, turning himself in on a warrant for battery, and a universally panned music career.