Before Antonio Brown was traded to the Oakland Raiders last March, the Pittsburgh Steelers had apparently reached a deal to send him to the Buffalo Bills before the wide receiver nixed it.
Brown seemingly wanted nothing to do with playing for the Bills, and at the time, it was hard to blame him.
Buffalo has made just one playoff appearance since the 1999-00 campaign and do not exactly play in a climate that players enjoy. Plus, Buffalo is not really a major city.
But, of course, the Raiders situation blew up, which led to Brown signing with the New England Patriots. He then played one game for the Patriots before being released as a result of rape accusations and Brown sending threatening text messages to another woman who accused him of sexual misconduct.
The 31-year-old has been out of the NFL ever since.
With the offseason approaching and with Brown taking the necessary steps to ingratiate himself back into the good graces of the league, a team will probably come calling this winter/spring.
But what if that team is the Bills?
Buffalo had obvious interest in Brown last offseason, as the Bills were desperate for receiving help. They ended up landing John Brown and Cole Beasley in free agency, two wide outs who have been outstanding for Buffalo this season.
Still, as strong as both players have been, neither is even in the same stratosphere as AB in terms of talent.
Brown could put the Bills' budding offense over the top, or at least make it so it does not rank in the bottom half of the NFL. But would he consider Buffalo?
The answer should be a resounding yes.
Not just because the Bills are better than they were a year ago at this time, but because Brown needs to jump on any opportunity an NFL club gives him.
And if Buffalo wants to give him that chance? Brown should take it, as he would be going to a pretty good football team that has a solid young quarterback in Josh Allen and a really impressive rookie running back in Devin Singletary.
Plus, the Bills have the third-ranked defense in the league.
While Buffalo is still largely a work in progress, it appears to be on its way to a playoff appearance, and it is undoubtedly a team on the rise in the AFC.
Why wouldn't Brown want to join such an intriguing young squad?
The funny thing is, the current Bills are probably a better destination for Brown than the Raiders were last March. Yes, I understand Oakland had a more established quarterback in Derek Carr, but as a team, Buffalo seems to be pretty clearly better than the Raiders right now.
It should be noted that the Bills probably would not be the only club to express interest in Brown this offseason. More than likely, numerous teams will place a phone call to Drew Rosenhaus to inquire about his superstar client.
But Brown should at least consider Buffalo if it does try and snag the seven-time Pro Bowler again.
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