AP Photo/Butch Dill

There are still three rounds left in the NFL playoffs but the 2019 offseason is already heating up.

The Buffalo Bills need to find a way to upgrade at the wide receiver position, and the Pittsburgh Steelers look set to shop four-time first team All Pro pass catcher Antonio Brown.

There are certainly layers to this situation. There are pros and cons when it comes to whether the Bills should try and trade for Brown, 30. The receiver was criticized for behavior that resulted in getting benched for the team's finale with a playoff birth at stake.

But even with the baggage, Brown is a once-in-a-generation talent. The Bills couldn't provide franchise quarterback Josh Allen with a more dangerous option this offseason than Brown.

Let's go through some of the talking points of this situation to try and gain some further clarity on the decision facing the Bills.

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Should the Bills pursue a trade for Steelers receiver Antonio Brown? Our Matt Parrino is discussing what Brandon Beane should do and looks ahead to free agency. Posted by Buffalo Bills on NYup.com on Friday, January 11, 2019

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How Brown became suddenly available

Brown didn't play in the Steelers' Week 17 win against the Cincinnati Bengals. He sat out of a practice that week because of an incident involving Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who scolded Brown on the practice field. Brown responded by throwing a ball in Roethlisberger's direction before leaving the field.

Brown attended the Saturday walkthrough but didn't show up to the night team meeting. On Sunday he arrived at Heinz Field expecting to play against the Bengals but coach Mike Tomlin made him inactive as a punishment for his actions.

Tomlin didn't dispute the notion that Brown basically quit on his team as a result of his behavior. Steelers owner Art Rooney II told the Pittsburgh Post Gazette this week that it's hard to envision Brown being on the Steelers roster come training camp.

Brown hasn't said much other than a few cryptic social media posts and by allegedly unfollowing the official Steelers Twitter account on Friday. He seems OK with the idea of getting traded.

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Brown the player

Brown's 2018 season (in 15 games) was unreal. He caught 104 passes for 1,297 yards and a career-high 15 touchdowns.

Are you kidding? Can you imagine that kind of production - heck, half of that production added to the Bills' 30th-ranked offense?

If you doubled Zay Jones' numbers for 2018 (56 catches, 652 yards, 7 touchdowns), you get Antonio Brown: 112 catches, 1,304 yards, 14 touchdowns.

Oh, and Jones played all 16 games this season for the Bills.

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Debunking the 'not a process guy' narrative

Ever since the Brown trade rumors began to circulate there has been a faulty narrative making its way through Bills Mafia social media.

"Antonio Brown is not a process guy," some fans have claimed.

Let's break this down for a second. Is LeSean McCoy a process guy? If he was on another team and pulled some of the stunts he's pulled over the course of his career, would you think of him as a process guy?

For as many Ryan Clarks (score to the bottom of the page) as there are in the world there seems to be just as many James Harrisons, who have come out to defend Brown.

There is obviously a significant rift between Roethlisberger and Brown. Most of the conversation has been focused on the "prima donna" pass catcher but some degree of the blame should fall on Roethlisberger.

Being part of the process is more about buying into the culture. Tomlin has let the inmates run the asylum in Pittsburgh and now it's starting to unravel.

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Roethlisberger publicly criticizes Brown

Back in early December Roethlisberger made headlines when he publicly scrutinized Brown on his radio show.

"Looking at it on film...he did undercut AB," Roethlisberger said of a route from the previous week's game that he believed Brown screwed up. " Who knows what would have happened. That's where I talked to AB, like 'AB, you have to come flat. You can't drift in the end zone because those undercuts can happen.'"

Roethlisberger defended his comments a few days later.

"Being around for a long time, being with a lot of different players, you have to know how to motivate guys in different ways," Roethlisberger said. "That's part of being a leader and a captain -- just understanding players. Sometimes you just grab them off to the side; sometimes you have to be honest with them. And so, I think I've earned the right to be able to do that, as long as I've been here. And I'll be just as critical on myself in front of you guys as well."

Isn't this the sort of conversation or constructive criticism that is supposed to happen in house?

Brown didn't take any issue with the comments publicly, to his credit.

"I've got big shoulders. I can take it," Brown said. "Constructive criticism is only for you to get better. It's not personal."

But in hindsight who's to know whether this was the beginning of the frustrations that obviously boiled over later in the month?

There looks to be a culture problem in Pittsburgh. When the quarterback can act a certain way but other players are held to a different standard it's eventually going to become a problem.

Former NFL receiver James Jones said on the NFL Network that he's heard there have been issues for awhile.

"I've been told in meetings (Roethlisberger) would take shots at AB. Like, 'I don't got to throw you the ball,' and things like that," Jones said. "(In one practice) I heard he ran the wrong route, Big Ben threw the ball on the ground, said, 'Get him out of here. Get somebody else in there,' and that's when AB was at his boiling point and that's when he went off."

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Le'veon Bell situation

Speaking of culture, what a mess the Le'veon Bell situation was. We don't have to get into the details of where the fault lied in this standoff. Some believe Bell should have showed up to play and others applauded him sticking to his guns and holding out to get the contract he believes he's owed.

But one particular detail was troubling from the Steelers' end. Teammates raided Bell's locker after it became apparent he wasn't going to report and subsequently miss the remainder of the season. Teammates questioned Bell's decision to hold out early in the season when he didn't report for the start of the regular season after missing camp and preseason.

There seems to be a culture issue in Pittsburgh. With as much talent as the Steelers had, especially on the offensive end, it's quite mystifying how they failed to qualify for the playoffs. They ranked fourth in the NFL in total offense, second in pass offense, and sixth in total defense.

It seems that there are more problems in Pittsburgh than just one "prima donna" wide receiver.

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Have some faith in Sean McDermott

One thing that Sean McDermott has accomplished consistently throughout his two-year tenure with the Bills is getting the most out of the players on his roster.

Making the playoffs in year one with a so-so squad is one thing, but getting guys up to play in a meaningless December after the offense sputtered and stalled in the first half of the season was impressive.

Players want to play for McDermott. He molds them into process guys. Should Brown come to Buffalo it's safe to assume that McDermott and general manager Brandon Beane would do their due diligence to make sure he's capable of buying in.

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Week 16: Antonio Brown Highlights Antonio Brown set an NFL record for the most career games with at least eight receptions and 180 receiving yards with 8, breaking a tie with Isaac Bruce and Charley Hennigan (7). Posted by Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, December 24, 2018

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Just think of what Allen and Brown can do together

Allen developed quite the chemistry with undrafted free agent receiver Robert Foster in 2018. Just imagine what Allen and Brown could do together.

The rookie didn't have any receivers, other than Foster at times, that could consistently create separation and make defenses focus all their attention on him.

What would Brown do for the running game? The Bills couldn't get their ground game going all year and some of that can probably be attributed to the fact there weren't many deep threats or attention-seeking wide receivers on the field.

Allen had a strong rookie season. He struggled at times but it's hard to fault him when you look at who he was playing with. Expectations soar in 2019 if Brown is on the roster.

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The cost

From spotrac.com:

When he's traded, Brown will bring over a deal with three years remaining in one of the following formats:

If traded prior to March 17th, the deal will be 3 years, $38.9M, including cash & cap figures of $15.125M, $11.3M, & $12.5M through 2021.

If traded after March 17th, the deal will be 3 years, $36.425M, including cash & cap figures of $12.625M, $11.3M, & $12.5M through 2021.

The Bills would still have close to $80 million in cap space to play with to try and bolster their offensive line and put additional weapons around Allen.

What good is cap space if you don't use it? Brown comes with a hefty price tag but it's a price virtually every team would pay to get arguably the NFL's best or second-best receiver.

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Brown's potential impact on Zay Jones and Robert Foster

Here's what Brown's teammate in Pittsburgh, JuJu Smith-Schuster, had to say about Brown in October to ESPN's Steven A. Smith:

"Having a guy like Antonio Brown, I'm able to learn from him. I take a lot of little things that he does on the field and off the field. (I learn) by watching him. It's a lot of me watching him and what he does and taking notes. The guy's unbelievable."

Jones and Foster are so young in this league. All they've had for a veteran voice in the room is Kelvin Benjamin. Just think about what they can learn from Brown, who has had six straight 1,000-plus yard seasons.

Smith-Schuster raved about Brown's attention to detail. The little things he'd do, from exercising his fingers and toes individually to add strength, to taking care of his body and always putting in the work to prepare to perform.

That sounds like a process guy to me.

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Where Brown fits

Brown immediately becomes the Bills' No. 1 wide receiver and there aren't many of those in the league. There are no receivers on the free agent market that would bolster the Bills' offense to the extent that Brown could. There are some options in the draft but the addition of Brown would eliminate the need to rush a rookie into a prominent role in the offense that he isn't ready for.

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So blessed that every Sunday, I’m able to go out to war with this dude @ab84 Grateful to be able learn from one of the greatest to play this game 🐐🐐 Not many get this opportunity! 🙏🏾 🙏🏾 #CallGod📞 pic.twitter.com/1xWoqXV5sE — JuJu Smith-Schuster (@TeamJuJu) October 17, 2018

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The counterpoint

Some people don't think Brown is a good teammate. After reading everything written above it's important to note that there is another side to this debate. Listen to Ryan Clark's comments about Brown below. The two were teammates in Pittsburgh for five seasons.

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