The Pittsburgh Steelers are no stranger to polarizing receivers. George Pickens succeeded Diontae Johnson, who ushered in an era of football in a post-Antonio Brown world.
Now, Seattle Seahawks star DK Metcalf will join them.
The Steelers traded a second round pick to Seattle for Metcalf and tacked on an extra four years and $132 million to the $18 million he's set to play for in 2025. It was arguably the biggest splash of the pre-free agency offseason and the solution to Pittsburgh's biggest hole in its supporting cast.
And yet, Metcalf wasn't the only receiver making news ahead of free agency.
The aforementioned Brown made headlines by critiquing Miami Dolphins receiver Tyreek Hill for his decision to leave the Kansas City Chiefs for the greener pastures of South Florida.
"It's a bad decision (to leave a good quarterback for money)," Brown said on This Past Weekend With Theo Von. "You just better ask Tyreek Hill. Cheetah should have stayed with Patrick Mahomes going to Super Bowls. It's not nice in Miami. You come to Miami after your career for vacation. You don't want to be there with the party scene and the BBLs. It's a distraction, man. You need to play in Kansas City. It's cold and you can focus on football and you're gonna win."
Hill famously wanted out of the NFL's most feared franchise in hopes of more production (and compensation) with a team that needed him more. The Dolphins, with an explosive, but fragile, passing offense, fit that bill.
Hill generated back-to-back 1,700-yard seasons, leading the league in yards and touchdowns (13) in 2023.
His 2024 season was far less successful, falling short of 1,000 yards for the first time since 2019, when he missed five games. Hill responded on social media to the Steelers legend's bizarre criticism.
"I think I'll not take his advice," Hill posted. "He still the goat though."
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Brown, to an extent, is right. The Chiefs are a far better team than the Dolphins, and Hill far more likely to never win another Super Bowl than he is to hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. However, his declining production seems correlated to a wrist injury that lingered throughout the season, and not off-field distractions.
Hill, of course, is no stranger to those, either. But on Saturday, he took the high road, paying respects to Brown's incredible on-field exploits.
The Steelers will host the Dolphins at some point in the 2025 regular season.
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This story was originally published March 9, 2025 at 10:42 PM.