Drama in Pittsburgh is afoot. It's been afoot for a while now, but you know things are going poorly when your superstar wide receiver is benched in a Week 17 must-win game to get into the playoffs.
You also know things aren't going well when oddsmakers start posting odds regarding whether or not key personnel will still be around next season.
That's what they've done for Antonio Brown and Mike Tomlin, though.
Will Antonio Brown be on the Steelers in Week 1 of 2019?
- Yes: -200
- No: +150
(Must be on active roster)
Rumor has it that AB wants to be dealt, but that may not be the wisest move for Pittsburgh. You can't always get what you want (and if you don't, you can just sit the season out like Le'Veon Bell).
There seems to be wildly-different opinions on the situation. If you Google "Antonio Brown trade," the articles range from, "The Steelers definitely aren't trading Antonio Brown" to "Steelers have no choice but to trade Antonio Brown."
I actually think the stipulation of "must be on active roster" may attract more "no" bets. Trading him could be tough, but given Brown's current attitude, he could sit out, be suspended by the team, etc.
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Will Mike Tomlin be the coach of the Steelers in Week 1 of 2019?
- Yes: -300
- No: +200
Maybe Coach Tomlin is to blame for all of this. First Bell, now AB? You have to keep those egos in check if you're a head coach in the NFL.
Tomlin said on Wednesday that change would be coming this offseason, but I doubt he was referring to himself.
He survived Black Monday despite the Bell and Brown drama, as well as Pittsburgh's first postseason missed since 2013.
At this point, getting fired seems unlikely and the -300 odds (75% implied probability) suggest that. I reckon there may even be some takers at this price, as it's not too outlandish to scare folks off altogether.
If the odds were -1000, that'd be another story.
