John Lynch: Antonio Brown Trade Talks Haven't Been Held Between 49ers, Steelers

Antonio Brown has publicly flirted with the idea of being a San Francisco 49er. 

The 49ers, however, appear in no hurry to make that a reality.

General manager John Lynch said the team has not had any contact with the Steelers regarding a Brown trade.

"It's funny the world we live in where one tweet from a player to another turns into interest and all of that," Lynch told reporters Thursday at the scouting combine. "I can tell you, like every team in this league, we think the guy is a heck of a football player, but we have not had talks with the Steelers."

That echoes 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan, who told reporters Wednesday the 49ers were not among the teams to contact the Steelers. Shanahan would not rule out the 49ers eventually engaging.

George Kittle, Richard Sherman and Trent Taylor each publicly reached out to Brown in January. The Pro Bowl wideout responded to Kittle with a star-eyed emoji; one does not need a doctorate in emoji language to understand Brown has interest in being a 49er.

The Steelers and Brown agreed to part ways following a tumultuous 2018 season, which saw coach Mike Tomlin bench his star wideout for a pivotal Week 17 matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals because he missed practice. After revealing a falling-out with Tomlin and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Brown officially requested a trade. 

"If you decide to take a player like that off your team, you'd best have the compensation that will justify removing that player," general manager Kevin Colbert told reporters. "And that would be a significant compensation either in the form of a draft pick or picks. Or a player and picks."

It's unclear what the Steelers are looking for in a trade, though Brown's public antics have likely depreciated his value. On the field, Brown recorded his sixth straight 100-reception season while making his seventh Pro Bowl. He has 121 more receptions than any other receiver over the last six seasons.

The 49ers have a glaring hole at the top of their receiver depth chart after Marquise Goodwin's disappointing 2018 and declining Pierre Garcon's option for 2019. Lynch may not yet have contacted the Steelers, but he might want to get on that before someone else makes them an offer too good to refuse.