Pittsburgh lost both Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell.

"People laughed at Jon Gruden Donald Trump Jerseys 2019 , and it was warranted. He hadn’t been a head coach for a very long time, and he was trading away what many people considered to be one of the best edge players in the NFL: Khalil Mack was coming off a season where he won defensive player of the year, but he was saying that he refused to play for the Oakland Raiders without a new contract.Yes, he was under contract still, and the Raiders technically could’ve called his bluff and made him play anyway, but that argument is irrelevant here, considering what the Pittsburgh Steelers did. The Raiders found a trade partner with the Chicago Bears, and the Bears forked over two first round picks, a third round pick, and a sixth rounder for Mack and a second rounder. The Bears then made Mack the highest paid defensive player in NFL history, with a six-year, $141 million deal, with $60 million guaranteed.You can make the argument that the Bears won the trade, and you’d probably be right, but the Raiders got rid of a guy who was threatening to hold out without a new deal, and got a ton of draft capital back as well. Then White Stephen Gostkowski Jerseys , during the season, they moved much maligned number one receiver Amari Cooper to the Dallas Cowboys for another first round pick. Cooper proceeded to light it up in Dallas, and was one of the most explosive receivers in the league at the end of last season.Don’t let that change history though: everyone thought the Raiders fleeced the Cowboys, and couldn’t believe Dallas was willing to give up a first for a guy who had never come close to his potential. Throw in the fact that Cooper has only one year left on his deal, and it’s for $13 million — something that he was certainly not worth based on his production in Oakland — and it looked like a steal for the Raiders. Now, let’s take a look at how the Steelers handled the situations they were in. They had franchised star running back Le’Veon Bell in 2017, and were unable to get a long term deal done, so they put the franchise tag on him again the following year. Bell then said he would sit out the season without a new contract. The Steelers called his bluff, assuming he would come back and play under his tag for one more year. They were wrong.Then, after Bell said he would be coming back at some point to play for the Steelers, they tried shopping him at the trade deadline. That may have pissed him off enough that he changed his mind, and didn’t come back at all last year. Now he’s walking via free agency, and they’re probably getting a third-round round compensatory pick in return for him, depending on what they do in free agency.If the Steelers has recognized the issue and traded him before July, the other team could’ve negotiated something with Bell and ripped up the tag. Of course, this would require some finagling Stephen Gostkowski Jerseys 2019 , since he couldn’t be traded without signing the tender, and other teams couldn’t make formal offers to Bell, but they could’ve made it work. The New York Jets, after all, have no problem tampering with players currently signed by someone else, so you know they would’ve been down. Instead it was a huge distraction for a team that missed the playoffs in 2018.Then there’s the Antonio Brown situation. Brown was the highest paid wide receiver in the league, until neo-Cleveland Brown Odell Beckham Jr. signed his huge deal last offseason. The Steelers had to have known that wouldn’t sit well with Brown, and that he’d want more money. But, they let the season play out anyway. It obviously didn’t end well, with Brown going AWOL week 17 and then basically shooting his way out of town. He cut out all the leverage the Steelers had, and they ended up having to dump him for next to nothing: the Raiders paid a third and a fifth to acquire Brown.Keep in mind, Brandin Cooks was traded for a first-round pick, twice. Cooper was traded for a first-round pick. Even Percy Harvin was traded for a first-round pick a few years back. Brown is far superior to any of those receivers, and yet he didn’t command nearly the haul any of them got. Then there’s the aforementioned Beckham Jr, who the Giants traded and got a first-round pick, a second-round pick White Matthew Slater Jerseys , and safety Jabrill Peppers, a pretty good safety who was a first-round pick just two years ago. Throw the other trades out, just seeing the OBJ haul makes the Brown trade downright laughable.Yes, most people are arguing that the Raiders are now paying Brown when they refused to pay Mack, but it’s less money and less years. It might not be perfect, and you might not love the Raiders situation, but would you rather be the Raiders or the Steelers? Again, the Steelers turned two of the best offensive players in the NFL into two third-rounders (maybe) and a fifth-rounder. The Raiders turned a dominant defensive player, and, at the time, a middling receiver, into three first-rounders, a third-rounder, and a sixth-rounder. There’s simply no comparison.One can argue that the Raiders made some questionable decisions, but the Steelers had perhaps the most poorly managed season in NFL history. Luckily, they still have a decent amount of talent on offense Matthew Slater Jerseys 2019 , but losing Brown and Bell and getting next to nothing back is something that could cripple the franchise. Only time will tell what the true ramifications will be, but it’s possible that the Patriots might be more worried about the Raiders or even the Jets than they are the Steelers for the next few seasons.Pat co-hosts The Patriot Nation PodcastInteract with him on Twitter @plane_pats BOSTON (AP) — With cheers of “We want seven!” and “Next year, right here!” hundreds of thousands of jubilant fans jammed downtown Boston on Tuesday for a parade celebrating the New England Patriots‘ sixth Super Bowl title.A party atmosphere enveloped the city on the unseasonably mild day. Red, white and blue confetti rained down and music blared as fans packed along sidewalks hoping to catch a glimpse of quarterback Tom Brady, coach Bill Belichick and the rest of the beloved team.It’s a familiar feeling in Boston. The city’s teams have now won twelve championships since 2001. Just four months ago, the city feted the Red Sox for their World Series victory over another Los Angeles team, the Dodgers.Boston resident Tom Collins was beaming as he took in the spectacle across from the city’s historic Common, his ticket from this year’s Super Bowl dangling from a lanyard around his neck.After celebrating in Atlanta, Collins said he and his wife drove nearly non-stop to get home for the parade.“We had to be a part,” he said as he smoked a cigar and held up a homemade Vince Lombardi trophy. “We had to bring the trophy back to Boston.”Leigh Hickman, of Swanzey, New Hampshire, drew cheers as he stalked the crowd wearing a rubber goat mask, a Tom Brady shirt and a sign that read: “We’re Still Here.”“I wanted to represent the G.O.A.T., the greatest player of all time,” he said. “I’m the same age as him and I can’t imagine doing any of the things he does. It’s unbelievable.”Fresh from Sunday’s 13-3 victory over the Los Angeles Rams in the Super Bowl title match held in Atlanta White Devin McCourty Jerseys , team members and their families took a 2-mile (3-kilometer) swing through the city aboard Boston’s iconic World War II-era amphibious “duck boats.”Brady held his pigtailed daughter, Vivian, as they waved and grinned at the crowd. Other players, Belichick and team owner Robert Kraft took turns holding aloft the Lombardi Trophy.Star tight end Rob Gronkowski, who has talked about retiring after this latest NFL title, whooped it up with his brothers and father. He and several other players removed their shirts and spent much of the parade bare-chested.Players also waved large signs that read, “We Got Everything” — a twist on the team’s motivational hashtag, “Everything We Got,” that had become a theme this season.Boston Police Sgt. John Boyle said the crowd of roughly 1.5 million was one of the largest the city has seen for a championship parade.The regional transit system reported record ridership as revelers basked in dazzling sunshine and temperatures that peaked above 60 degrees (15 degrees Celsius).Police made at least a dozen arrests and emergency medical officials transported 34 revelers to area hospitals. Five of those arrested were involved in a brawl that happened near the parade’s end and at least seven of the arrests were juveniles, Boyle said.Fans seemed to mostly honor Mayor Marty Walsh’s pleas not to throw anything at the team. Errant beer cans slightly damaged the Red Sox World Series trophy last year.Unlike in past years, there was no post-parade rally with speeches from Brady and others. Regardless, Patriots fans made it clear they weren’t ready for the good times to end.“Go for No. 7,” Lauren Mills said when asked what she’d say to Brady. “He still has how many fingers left? You know, four more rings to go.”