Antonio Brown Apologizes to Roethlisberger: 'I Never Realized How Good I Had It'

Free-agent NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown took to Instagram on Tuesday to apologize for disparaging remarks he has made about quarterback Ben Roethlisberger since getting traded by the Pittsburgh Steelers in March:

The Instagram post comes on the heels of Brown's appearance on 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh (h/t Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today) last week, in which he apologized to the Steelers organization:

"I apologize to those guys for the distractions, the unwanted attention that I probably caused those guys, to the organization. Obviously you want to clear out any baggage or any disrespect or unintended attention that was brought on to the organization. These guys gave me an opportunity when I was 21 years old. I'm forever grateful to those guys, to have the opportunity to not only play with those guys but to be in so many amazing moments.

"We've been through so much. I'm forever grateful and indebted to this organization. Mr. Rooney, Mike Tomlin, Kevin Colbert, Ben Roethlisberger, I started my career with those guys. A lot of beautiful moments, a lot of positive things, so it’s not all bad. I just think from an emotional standpoint, when things got bad, they just seemed bad. But we had a lot more good moments than bad."

Brown spent the first nine years of his career in Pittsburgh with Roethlisberger as his quarterback before a trade to the Oakland Raiders. The receiver was released by the Raiders without ever appearing in a game for them, and then signed by the New England Patriots but released again after playing in just one contest.

Brown had been outspoken about his issues with Roethlisberger following the trade to Oakland. After Roethlisberger expressed regret in August for calling out the receiver on a missed route during a 2018 game and noted that it "ruined a friendship," Brown replied in a since-deleted tweet: "Never friends just had to get my ends.......shut up already."

Brown later appeared on HBO's The Shop (h/t John Breech of CBS Sports) and said Roethlisberger "feels like he's the owner."

Whatever the issues were between Brown and Roethlisberger, it didn't impact their on-field production. Brown was a seven-time Pro Bowler and four-time First Team All-Pro in Pittsburgh, registering 837 receptions for 11,207 yards and 74 touchdowns in nine seasons.

From 2013 to 2018, Brown finished with at least 100 receptions for 1,200 receiving yards and eight touchdowns each year. Even in his tumultuous final season with the Steelers, he led the NFL with 15 touchdown catches.

Big Ben was a five-time Pro Bowler during Brown's tenure as well, and he twice led the NFL in passing yardage with Brown as his go-to receiver.

While Brown and Roethlisberger never won a Super Bowl together, they reached the playoffs six times and enjoyed a great deal of success as a duo.

Roethlisberger is looking to return to his usual form in 2020 after he missed all but two games last season because of an elbow injury, while Brown is still without a team. Off-field issues have likely played a major role in his continued free agency, including facing a burglary with battery charge after allegedly attacking a moving-truck driver.

The NFL is also investigating sexual assault allegations from 2017-18 against Brown, which included rape, by his former trainer Britney Taylor. Taylor has filed a civil lawsuit against Brown.

Shortly after that news broke, Robert Klemko reported for SI.com that another woman alleged Brown had approached her naked with only a towel covering his genitals after inviting her to his house to paint a mural of him in 2017. Following the publication of that article, the woman reported she had received intimidating text messages from the same number she previously used to contact Brown.

Brown has been outspoken about his desire to return to the NFL, and offering apologies to Roethlisberger and the Steelers may be his way of showing he is ready for another opportunity in the league. 

However, his future could ultimately depend on the results of investigations into his life away from the football field.