Antonio Brown says Vontaze Burfict apologized and pair have 'no issue'

Marc Lancaster

Antonio Brown says Vontaze Burfict apologized and pair have 'no issue' image

Antonio Brown knows plenty of eyes will be on him and Vontaze Burfict when the Steelers and Bengals get together this weekend.

This will be the first time the two players share a field since the Bengals linebacker's head shot on Brown that helped set up the game-winning field goal for Pittsburgh in last season's AFC wild-card game. The hit was one of several by Burfict that earned him a three-game suspension to start this season, which, among other things, kept him out of Cincinnati's Week 2 matchup against the Steelers.

Brown told ESPN.com Tuesday Burfict apologized for the hit during a chance meeting in Miami during the offseason, but the All-Pro receiver doesn't sound like someone expecting to see a change in approach in Cincinnati.

"They'll give us their best fight," Brown said. "They'll come out with a lot of emotion, trying to get us off our game. We've got to be laser-focused, be a sniper out there and get the job done."

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Brown said Burfict told him there was no intent to injure and it was just a "football move," though, obviously, one that fell outside the rules. While apparently declining an opportunity to declare the incident forgiven and forgotten, Brown told ESPN.com he won't be focused on Burfict on Sunday.

"I don't have no issue with any guy. I'm a football player. I'm a competitor," Brown said. "When we're in the field, we're going to compete and be competitive. It's not personal between none of these guys. It's all in the game. … I represent the Steelers. It's all business."

Marc Lancaster

Marc Lancaster Photo

Marc Lancaster joined The Sporting News in 2022 after working closely with TSN for five years as an editor for the company now known as Stats Perform. He previously worked as an editor at The Washington Times, AOL’s FanHouse.com and the old CNNSportsIllustrated.com, and as a beat writer covering the Tampa Bay Rays, Cincinnati Reds, and University of Georgia football and women’s basketball. A Georgia graduate, he has been a Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2013.