INDIANAPOLIS – Not surprisingly, Antonio Brown’s future has been one of the hot topics at the NFL Combine.
And not just with the Pittsburgh Steelers and general manager Kevin Colbert.
While Colbert was pressed multiple times during his interview sessions Wednesday about trade talks involving Brown, he wassn’t the only one fielding questions about the All-Pro wide receiver.
Because of tampering rules and with Brown still under contract to the Steelers, coaches and GMs from other teams can’t comment specifically on him, but that hasn’t stopped reporters from creatively finding ways of asking.
Arizona Cardinals general manager Steve Keim was asked whether his team would be willing to bring in a player carries as much baggage as a certain veteran wide receiver.
“That’s another hypothetical,” said Keim, who holds the first overall pick in the draft. “Every player is case by case. We go through the process. We vet it. We make sure that player is going to fit not only on the field, but that he’ll be a good citizen off the field and fit in the locker room with the current players we have.”
Kliff Kingsbury, a rookie coach heading into his first season with the Cardinals, also was asked about whether he would want a petulant wide receiver who demands the ball and isn’t afraid to criticize the quarterback.
“Yeah, it depends on how good they are,” Kingsbury said. “If they’re that good, I think you can find that happy medium.”
Tennessee Titans coach Mike Vrabel, who is entering his second season, was asked about scouting a player who faces the perception of placing individual stats above team goals.
“I think the one thing is a clear message to our team that I tell them is we’re going to treat you the same way you treat the team,” Vrabel said. “It’s an easy way to say that we treat everybody fairly, but we treat them differently.
“There’s a lot of things that you can put up with as a coach and as a team, and there’s some things that you can’t. And I think it’s important that anytime you bring in somebody from outside the organization, whether that be in free agency or (if) you trade for a player, you just have to make sure you know and are comfortable with what you’re getting.
“That’s a tough one.”
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