Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown's absence in the team's season finale Sunday stemmed from a dispute with Ben Roethlisberger that led him to skip practice all week, according to multiple reports.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette first reported that Brown and an unnamed teammate were involved in a "heated dispute" during a team walk-through before practice Wednesday morning. Brown then threw a football at the teammate in anger. After that, he decided to skip practice the rest of the week.
Veteran football reporter Jason La Canfora reports that Roethlisberger was the target of Brown's anger, and that the incident "was fairly ugly" and Brown was "totally in the wrong."
Brown was listed as "questionable" on the team's injury report, although the Wednesday designation stated, "Coach's Decision/Knee." He was listed as a non-participant all week.
Brown then reportedly missed the team's Saturday walk-through and team meeting that night. However, he reported to Heinz Field on Sunday expecting to play, leading to a situation one Steeler told the Post-Gazette was “embarrassing."
According to the report, Brown left Heinz Field at halftime.
Pittsburgh defeated the Bengals 16-13, but was eliminated from the postseason shortly after when the Ravens beat the Browns to clinch the AFC North title.