For those who follow Antonio Brown on social media, his posts have seemed rather out of character lately. Along with some cryptic one-liners shared on Twitter, Brown appeared to call out Bruce Arians for some less-than-complimentary remarks made by his former offensive coordinator.

Without any context, Brown’s post seemed rather random, but it turns out there might be a backstory to his comments after all. According to Bob Labriola of Steelers.com, Arians was not necessarily as enamored with Brown as the rest of the coaching staff in 2010. Viewing the rookie sixth-round draft pick as someone he could live without, Arians apparently suggested releasing Brown during the final round of cuts that year.

“When it came time to cut the roster, Arians’ opinion was that Brown was nothing more than a practice squad player. That was what Arians advocated, which would have meant waiving Brown first before he could be signed to the practice squad. And during his 24 hours on waivers, Brown could have been claimed by any other team in the NFL. “Cut the guy who would become the most productive receiver in franchise history, a guy who today is the best receiver in the NFL and has been the best receiver in the NFL going on a few years now. To put him on the practice squad. That was the idea BA brought to the table late in the summer of 2010.”

Thankfully for Steeler Nation, “wiser evaluators prevailed” according to Labriola, and Pittsburgh avoided making an unimaginable mistake. Brown would have a breakout season under Arians in 2011, the coach’s final year with the team.

This anecdote is unlikely to ever be officially confirmed by Arians or the Steelers, but it is rather telling that it has been published on the team’s official website. While it would also be fair to say that the parting of the ways between Arians and the organization was hardly amicable, the team is not known for spreading false stories.

Taking Labriola’s words at face value, it is somewhat understandable why Brown might still harbor at little resentment and if that helps motivate him just a little bit more, then more power to him.