While fans were going to sleep on what seemed like a regular Saturday night, their phones vibrated with breaking news. Fans would rub their eyes to view what it was—only to see Antonio Brown was traded.
Brown was traded overnight to the Oakland Raiders. The trade sends a third and fifth-round pick to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for the All-Pro wide receiver.
The deal also sees Brown restructure his contract with the Raiders. Instead of receiving $0 guaranteed this season, he will now get $30 million guaranteed.
He also becomes the highest paid wideout in the NFL—being given $19.8 million per year by Oakland. You can officially call him Mr. Big Chest now.
The compensation that the Steelers received for Brown seems awfully low for a wide receiver that has averaged 114 receptions, 1,524 yards, and 11 touchdowns over the last six years.
The Steelers also see the $21 million cap hit that Brown would've cost in 2019 become dead cap. What a rough night for Steelers fans.
The Raiders possess three first-round selections and Pittsburgh ended up with none of them? The Steelers were able to land a third-round pick for Martavis Bryant just last season.
You're telling me that Antonio garners the same compensation as Bryant, plus a fifth-round pick? It seems like business isn't booming in Pittsburgh.
Regardless, Brown joins a Raiders squad that was in need of a wide receiver this offseason. Mike Mayock gets off to a nice start as the GM of the Raiders.
One guy who was excited, to say the least, was Derek Carr.
On Twitter, Carr was quick to respond to Brown's announcement of landing with Oakland.
There have been rumors swirling around since last season that the Raiders could trade Carr. That doesn't seem likely anymore now that he receives one of the best skill players in the NFL.
Last season, the Raiders traded Amari Cooper for a first-round pick from the Dallas Cowboys. As a result, Carr struggled with a lack of weapons on the offense.
That shouldn't be a problem anymore after adding someone as productive as Brown. In addition to Brown, he may not be the only big name player to land in Oakland.
Could acquiring Brown cause Le'Veon Bell to follow suit? It definitely is possible after seeing how he reacted to the trade last night.
Portland Trailblazers point guard, Damian Lillard—a Raiders fan—tweeted at Bell to join the Raiders as well.
With the legal tampering period less than 24 hours away, Bell could be running to Oakland like Forrest Gump. Although, during the legal tampering period you can agree upon a deal—you just can't sign it until March 13th.
It would be remarkable to see two of the Killer B's play together once again but this time in silver and black. Who would've guessed three years ago that Ben Roethlisberger would be the last one standing in Pittsburgh between the trio?
Adding Bell is going to cost a substantial amount of money though. Good news is, the Raiders possess around $60 million in cap space this offseason.
Adding Bell would make a ton of sense for a Raiders team who finished 25th in rushing yards last season. Bell also brings the ability to catch the ball as a receiving threat—making the Raiders that more dangerous if they could lure Bell.
Since being drafted 48th overall in the 2013 NFL Draft, Bell has three seasons where he has rushed for 1,000 yards and caught 75 passes. Furthermore, Bell is the reason why teams are yearning for running backs who can be a dual-threat.
Derek Carr may want to get his Twitter fingers ready again when the Raiders could possibly pair Brown with Bell this offseason.
Things are beginning to look up for fans in the black hole.
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