Steelers on TMZ: JuJu has no beef with Antonio Brown, Joe Haden 'happy' for Cleveland

ESPN and Sports Illustrated couldn’t be counted on to ask the right questions of Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell.

Let’s see if TMZ can do any better with a pair of different Steelers.

The celebrity website caught up with both Joe Haden and JuJu Smith-Schuster on Tuesday. And for those who don’t understand what some in the local media mean when they say, “JuJu presents himself differently for the networks and his own social media than he does on a day-to-day basis,” this is what some of us mean.

No. Not exactly the engaging “Mr. Happy Funtime” we always see on Instagram. That’s more of what it’s like trying to wrangle Smith-Schuster to do his weekly interview on the South Side or for a scrum at training camp.

But we should give Smith-Schuster a pass here. Having the random TMZ camera walk-and-talk you with inane questions, as you are already trying to dust autograph seekers, while attempting to get through airport security, is pretty much the height of annoying.

In fact, Smith-Schuster was so quick to brush off TMZ, I’m not sure we should attach much merit to his dismissal of the question about his beef — or lack thereof — with Antonio Brown by referring to A.B. as “my guy.”

I still present this Instagram post as Exhibit A that Smith-Schuster wants to prove he can replace Brown as Pittsburgh’s top receiver.

View this post on Instagram

I’m Ready...

A post shared by JuJu Smith-Schuster (@juju) on Mar 10, 2019 at 9:07am PDT

Granted, Smith-Schuster’s desire to excel can be independent from having a grudge against Brown. Furthermore, Brown seemingly being ticked that Smith-Schuster was getting praise and was the team MVP doesn’t necessarily mean that Smith-Schuster has to return the animus.

Note ”necessarily.” We’ll see as the season goes along and as Brown’s social media ramps up.

Meanwhile, Joe Haden brought his “Chief Award” media-good-guy reputation to a new high during his TMZ interview. He actually stopped on the street and chatted up the cameraman that flagged him down.

Without drilling too deep into the most basic of questions for the Steelers corner, it is worth noting he stopped short of overselling the idea that Smith-Schuster and James Conner can simply slide into the roles of Brown and Le’Veon Bell and replace them.

Conner did a decent job of that last year before he got hurt. But the Steelers sure are looking at a lot of running backs in pre-draft visits. So they may be attempting to get Conner some help.

At wideout, whether it’s James Washington, Donte Moncrief or a high-round draft choice, an able body needs to lighten the load for Smith-Schuster, too.

So it’s wise of Haden to not overhype the expectation that Conner and Smith-Schuster could make Steelers Nation forget Brown and Bell existed.

Meanwhile, like Haden, I’m looking forward to his twice-a-year matchup with new Cleveland receiver Odell Beckham Jr., too. But I’m not going to be as enthusiastic about the Browns’ improvement as Haden seems to be.

“I’m happy for Cleveland. That’s a great football city,” Haden said in the interview. “They deserve everything.”

Eh. Cleveland deserves another decade of losing as far as I’m concerned.

CONVERT THE FOURTH DOWN, BAKER!

C.J. Mosley with a huge interception. Locked up a playoff spot for the Ravens pic.twitter.com/zaKbM8VCza

— Matt Zenitz (@mzenitz) December 31, 2018

Sorry, did I type that?

Haden played there. I get it. But that Cleveland-Pittsburgh rivalry is about to get real again. And unlike Haden — who used to play there — I’m not predisposed to liking the Browns.

It was also encouraging to see Haden support Ben Roethlisberger when he called him a “great leader” in that quick exchange. That’s similar to the way he propped up Mike Tomlin recently on the NFL Network.

Too bad neither TMZ dude asked Haden or Smith-Schuster about Bell’s new rap track. I hear it’s a big hit in the NFL community.