Steelers are negotiating with Antonio Brown, not with Le'Veon Bell

… fulfills promise, Colbert says 

On Thursday, Steeler General Manager Kevin Colbert confirmed that he is negotiating with Antonio Brown. Brown has one year remaining on his contract, so he will be with the Steelers until the end of the 2017 season.

Colbert told beat reporters and media, “We told Antonio last year his would be accelerated. He would be made the priority, and that's where he is.”

The negative part of this is that his agent is Drew Rosenhaus, who has been called the "Jerry Maguire super-agent," an allusion to the Tom Cruise character of a nasty agent who does his best to screw his opponents.

In short, Brown will be asking top dollars.

Nothing wrong with that. His numbers indicate that he is one of the top receivers in the game.

However, what Colbert said was that the team was negotiating with no one else. That would include Le'Veon Bell, the superb running back.

The Steelers have until March 1 to announce whether or not they will tag Bell as their franchise player. That would allow the team to work out a contract for the long term while allowing Bell to continue playing.

“(The tag) is something we'll use if we feel necessary. … It's very fluid," Colbert said, according to the Tribune-Review. "It changes daily. Once you start into talks with players, you'll see how it's all going to fit. Even if we were to use the tag, we'd certainly want to do something long term and have Le'Veon Bell be a Steeler for life.

“I can say unequivocally that we want Antonio Brown to retire as a Steeler just like we want Le'Veon to retire as a Steeler.”

The questions may be whether or not they have the money to sign both, and whether or not both athletes want to continue playing for the Steelers. Truth be told, they both may want to explore the free-agent waters, and if that happens, neither may finish his career in Pittsburgh.