Steelers' Antonio Brown smokes cigars with Chad Johnson

It all started 8 ½ years ago with #JagrWatch. Last year, it was “Where’s Le’Veon?” So far in 2019, the Pittsburgh sports scene is enamored with following Antonio Brown.

Friday, Brown showed up on the social-media accounts of former Cincinnati Bengals star receiver Chad Johnson (nee Ochocinco), smoking cigars.

During a video posted on Instagram earlier, Brown reportedly said, “I’ll be coming out later today to address all the speculation. That’s all I can say right now,” according to transcription from the Twitter account NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate).

Brown was with former teammate James Harrison the last time he showed up on an Instagram video and teased he would speak publicly about his deteriorating situation with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Coach Mike Tomlin did not play him in the Dec. 30 season finale after Brown skipped the previous day’s walkthrough and did not practice all week while complaining of a knee injury. Brown, per Tomlin, did not get an MRI on the knee he was asked to get, and he did not return repeated phone messages from Tomlin over the days before and the days after the game against the Bengals.

Brown skipped a team meeting the day after the season ended and reportedly has not yet spoken to team personnel, as rumors swirl the Steelers are exploring trading the eight-time Pro Bowl receiver.

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Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris at cadamski@tribweb.com or via Twitter @C_AdamskiTrib.