Mike Tomlin on Le'Veon Bell, Antonio Brown Leaving: 'There's Been a Cleansing'

Le'Veon Bell and Antonio Brown may be two of the best players at their respective positions, but Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin sees their departures as addition by subtraction.

"There's been a cleansing," Tomlin said to ESPN's Trey Wingo during the 2019 NFL draft (via Rotoworld's Raymond Summerlin).

Bell missed the entire year while holding out for a long-term contract with the Steelers. He signed a four-year, $52.5 million deal with the New York Jets earlier this offseason that includes $27 million guaranteed.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac and Ed Bouchette, Brown was absent for part of the Steelers' regular-season finale after having an argument with Ben Roethlisberger and then skipping practices immediately preceding what proved to be a 16-13 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

Brown then requested a trade, a wish Pittsburgh granted by sending him to the Oakland Raiders.

Tomlin's comment Saturday is understandable to some extent.

Steelers players faced constant questions about Bell before the deadline for him to sign his one-year franchise tender passed last November, which ruled out any chance he'd play. His teammates in Pittsburgh didn't seem too broken up about the development.

Regarding Brown, ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler offered a telling comment from a former Steelers player: "[Tomlin] essentially told the group, we'll tolerate it now because of what he brings on the field, but the minute production stops, you don't overlook it."

From an emotional perspective, watching Bell and Brown leave probably felt good for Tomlin and many of his players.

From a practical standpoint, that's a lot of production that walked out the door. Bell had 7,996 yards from scrimmage and 42 touchdowns through his first five years. Brown is first in receiving yards (11,207) and second in touchdown receptions (74) since entering the NFL in 2010.

The Steelers are obviously expecting James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster to step up in 2019, but the combined exits of Bell and Brown leave a massive void in the Steel City.