Antonio Brown Apologizes to Former Teammate Ben Roethlisberger: 'I Appreciate You'

In the weeks leading up to his departure from the Pittsburgh Steelers and in the months following, wide receiver Antonio Brown has taken multiple shots at his former teammate, Ben Roethlisberger. He said the quarterback had an "owner's mentality" and later said that they weren't friends. Now, however, Brown is apologizing to Roethlisberger on Instagram.

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A post shared by @ab on Feb 12, 2020 at 6:14am PST

"Mostly you a little bit of me ! Yee yee !! I never realized how good I had it, got caught up in my emotion with everyone coming after me I really apologize for my actions sincerely man !" Brown wrote in the caption of his Instagram post. "It's never been another connection like what we done in the past decade. I appreciate you. Sincerely AB."

The former NFL receiver has been on a redemption tour lately, talking to ESPN and publicly apologizing to his former teams and teammates for his "distractions." He took the apology one step further on Wednesday morning, posting a photo of himself and Roethlisberger celebrating.

Following this post surfacing on Instagram, there were several fans of Brown's that showed their support in the comments section. They said that he needs to be back in the NFL and partnering with Roethlisberger once again. The comments on Twitter, on the other hand, were a little less positive.

"As a Steelers fan of over 15 years now I think we all know that he will lash out again but pat McAfee said if he got on the right meds who know but I guess it's progress," one fan commented. They are fully expecting another blow up on social media in the coming days or weeks.

Brown's departure from Pittsburgh following the 2019 season was a very acrimonious split. There were reported tensions between him, Roethlisberger, and other members of the team. He was also inactive for the 2018 regular-season finale after missing practice time and reportedly throwing a football at Roethlisberger.

Brown later conducted an interview with reporter Jeff Darlington in which he said: "I don't even have to play football if I don't want." He was fine never suiting up for the Pittsburgh Steelers, which led the way to him joining the Oakland Raiders as part of a high-profile trade.

The receiver has since been out of the NFL since being released by the Raiders, signed by the New England Patriots, and released once again. He never suited up for the Silver and Black and only appeared in one game for the Patriots. Brown was released amid allegations of sexual assault and rape, and he has been under investigation by the NFL ever since.

Despite being out of the league, Brown has never given up on his hopes of playing another season. He has worked out constantly and has posted about potentially pairing with Tom Brady once again. Although he has been frequently involved in controversy as well.

A return to the NFL isn't guaranteed, but Brown is aiming to increase the likelihood. He has apologized to players and organizations alike, and now he is reaching out to Roethlisberger.

Photo Credit: 2018 Nick Cammett/Diamond Images/Getty Images