Following reports that Antonio Brown and Ben Roethlisberger had an altercation in practice last week, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reported that the Pro Bowl wideout has requested a trade.
With Brown possibly on the trade block, a trio of San Francisco 49ers players are seemingly trying their best to recruit the star wide receiver. It all started with George Kittle - who broke the single-season tight end receiving yards record.
Brown then responded with this laughing emoticon, which Kittle retweeted.
Cornerback Richard Sherman then chimed in on the fun:
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo also retweeted Brown's reply to Kittle. And with that, the 49ers were done playing their apparent recruiting Twitter game with Brown.
On Monday, Gerry Dulac and Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that Brown opted to skip Sunday's Week 17 game with the Cincinnati Bengals. It had originally been reported that Brown didn't play because of a knee injury.
Per Dulac and Bouchette, Brown and Roethlisberger argued during a practice on Wednesday last week, with the former throwing a football in his quarterback's direction. Brown didn't attend mandatory meetings and failed to return the call of a teammate. Steelers players were expecting Brown to suit up Sunday, so it was a surprise when he was revealed to be inactive.
RELATED: ANTONIO BROWN REQUESTS TRADE FROM STEELERS [RUMOR]
Whether or not the Steelers would seriously consider trading Brown remains to be seen, but there is good reason to believe the 49ers would be interested if he becomes available in a trade.
What This Means
With Garoppolo, Kittle and running back Matt Breida, the 49ers have a young, star-studded offense. Adding a superstar like Brown would help the 49er offense reach another level in 2019.
Given Brown's age (31), and expensive contract, the 49ers probably wouldn't have to give up more than mid-round selections for him. We'll see how the Brown saga unfolds in the coming weeks.
NEXT: ANTONIO BROWN REMOVED HIMSELF FROM WEEK 17 GAME AFTER ALTERCATION BEN ROETHLISBERGER