Golden Nuggets: AB requests trade

Steelers’ receiver Antonio Brown formally requested a trade from Pittsburgh on Tuesday. Antonio will draw a lot of interest in his services because he is one of the top receivers in the game. It’s also no secret that the 49ers would be one of the most interested teams in acquiring AB. Putting him in an offense run by Kyle Shanahan with Jimmy Garoppolo and George Kittle would be a dream scenario for the 49ers.

The problem with AB is all the noise that comes with him. At the end of the season, there were reports that he had issues with other members of the Steelers. In recent days, there are reports of a domestic violence incident and a speeding over 100 mph charge. If the 49ers only took his playing ability into account, acquiring him would be an easy decision. The other stuff makes acquiring him a risk that the 49ers have to determine if makes sense for them. And given that he is under contract with the Steelers, the 49ers would need to make a trade to acquire his services and they would need to make a decision on what they are willing to give up to get him.

Since the firings of the 49ers’ head trainer and strength coach, the 49ers have been looking to find a replacement to change the whole department. Reports say that they plan to hire Ben Peterson, who last held the director of sports science position of the NHL’s Philadelphia Flyers. The 49ers are trying to revamp the whole department because the last 2 years have seen them put a lot of players on injured reserve. The team consulted with sports franchises about how they deal with training.

49ers links

Moves to improve the team (Barnwell)

Need to have an immediate improvement | Pass rush targets (Gayle)

Welcome Ben | New head of training (Almquist)

No secret it was going to happen | AB requests trade (Madson)

Would instantly make the 49ers one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL | The pros/cons for getting AB (Maiocco)

Looking back at Kyle and John’s 1st FA class (Chan)

Ben Peterson hired (Cohn)