Terrell Owens: Antonio Brown Ready to Leave Steelers; Has Asked About Bay Area

Although the Pro Bowl wideout remains a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers (for now), it appears Antonio Brown is doing his homework on the San Francisco 49ers.

First, Brown FaceTimed with Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice. Now, it appears as though he has been in communication with Terrell Owens as well.

Owens was a guest on the PFT PM podcast on Friday and revealed that he has chatted with Brown about the Steelers star's career. As a result, Owens believes he has a good grasp of the situation—and he thinks the disgruntled wideout wants out of Pittsburgh, h/t Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio:

"I've talked with Antonio Brown throughout the course of year. And I've kind of known some of what has been going on. He's leaned on me for advice, as somewhat of a mentor, so to speak. ...I think with him, I think it's a fresh start to go elsewhere and part ways with the organization and with some of the things than he and Ben have been confronted with."

Owens added:

"He wants to move on. ... I don't like how Ben [Roethlisberger] has kind of thrown him under the bus in certain instances. ... I think Ben owes him a lot more respect than he has given him. ... I mean even from the standpoint of him saying he didn't know anything about a blowup [at practice prior to Week 17] when he was part of the blowup."

CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora reported earlier this month that Brown has requested a trade. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin subsequently denied that a formal request had been made, per the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Ed Bouchette.

And while Brown himself has yet to officially go on the record and say he wants out, momentum continues to build as people like Owens speak on his behalf.

Owens did not give an official list of Brown's preferred landing spots, but he did mention something that should get 49ers fans excited.

"I talked to him on a couple of occasions, and I’m not here to air anybody’s messages or ... conversations, but he's asked me how the Bay Area was on several occasions," Owens said, per Florio.

Of course, this is just the latest in the AB-to-49ers rumors. Brown raised some eyebrows with a little back-and-forth with San Francisco tight end George Kittle earlier this month:

He also started following the 49ers on Instagram around that time. Then, on Friday, he made an Instagram post that featured him in a San Francisco uniform.

Stay tuned, as this saga is far from over.