When the Oakland Raiders acquired wide receiver Antonio Brown it could’ve been a deal that really changed the Raiders fortunes. All it took for Oakland to get a 7 time Pro Bowler with seven 1000 yard receiving seasons; six in a row. Six seasons of 100 or more receptions and 10 or more touchdowns in four of the last five seasons was a 3rd and a 5th round pick in last years draft. You wonder if the Raiders would do it all over again if given the chance.
The issues with Brown started when he tried cryotherapy and didn’t wear the proper footwear protection and ended up with frostbite on his feet.
Then Brown wanted to wear an old helmet that was no longer approved by the NFL. After losing a grievance hearing it looked like the helmet issue was behind Brown and the Raiders. Well wouldn’t you know it Brown found another older helmet that he wanted to wear, but again it didn’t meet the new safety standards; so he had and lost another grievance hearing.
Now that it appeared that those issues where behind Brown maybe it was time to get ready to play football; sadly it wasn’t.
Earlier in the week Brown released a video to social media with details of a letter he received from the Raiders. The letter was from Raiders general manager Mike Mayock explain in detail the two fines Brown was being accessed for missing activities he was required to be at. These letters are usually a private matter between a player and his team, but Brown has always had a big presence on social media; so it’s not a huge surprise that he pulled a stunt like this.
Then just two days ago Brown had a confrontation with GM Mayock about those fines. During the altercation which didn’t run physical Brown threatened to punch Mayock in the face. Brown also called Mayock a “cracker” and used profane language during this argument.
After this incident Mayock said that the Raiders would be suspending Brown. He didn’t give any details on how long of a suspension it would be just that it was going to happen.
Then apparently yesterday Brown stood up in front of his teammates with the team captains by side and gave an emotional apology that included him crying. Raiders had coach Jon Gruden bought Brown’s act hook line and sinker as he came out and said that Brown would now be playing Monday night against the Denver Broncos.
You might of thought that this was the end of the situation, but it was not. The Raiders fined Brown for his altercation with Mayock and brown responded by of course turning to social media. Brown posted a two minute video to his YouTube page of a conversation that he had with Gruden. Interestingly it’s being reported that Gruden didn’t have an issue with the video being posted and actually used the word “awesome” when told about it.
If you’re wondering like a lot of people are how heartfelt Brown’s apology was remember that Brown has 30 million reasons to make that apology. When Brown was traded to the Raiders he also got a new a contract. Oakland signed Brown to a three year deal worth $50.125 million dollar with $30.125 of that money guaranteed. So you can pretty much guess that Brown’s apology was a calculated strategy by Brown and his agent to not lose any of that guaranteed money.
We can add one more tidbit to this story. It’s being reported that about 30 minutes ago Brown was back on social media. This time Brown was on their to tell the Raiders to release him. So much for that heartfelt apology that just happened yesterday.
At this point if you’re the Raiders don’t you grant Brown his release as long as you can get that $30 million dollar signing bonus back. I just can’t see a way that they can bring him back onto the team after all of this. The frightening thing is that if the Raiders do decide to release Brown there would be teams lining up to sign him.
If you’re Jon Gruden, Mike Mayock and the rest of the Oakland Raiders; what do you do with Antonio Brown?
It looks like the Philadelphia Eagles have some interest in running back Melvin Gordon. As we know Gordon is in the final year of his rookie contract and didn’t report to training camp with the Los Angeles Chargers because he was looking for a new contract. The holdout final go to the point where the Chargers said that Gordon and his representation could look for a trade, but the Chargers want any deal to include a 1st round pick coming back to them. That’s a lot to ask for a player like Gordon, but it could also just be a starting point of a deal for the Chargers.
The Eagles where the first team that reached out to the Chargers, Philadelphia offered running back Jordan Howard and a swap of mid-round draft picks for Gordon. The eagles also wanted the Chargers to eat a portion of Gordon’s salary; so it was no surprise when this deal was turned down quickly by the Chargers.
There was another report where the team that would be receiving Gordon would send three draft picks to the Chargers. Now this second team wasn’t made; so you have to question how much credibility there is to this report, but apparently Los Angels would receive two 2020 draft picks a 1st and a 5th round pick along with a 2021 1st round pick. If this deal was actual proposed to the Chargers they should jump on it before the team they’re dealing with is done offering it because there’s now ay they’ll get anything clos to or better than this for Gordon.
With Week 1 of the regular season getting underway for every team, but two on Sunday you have to wonder how long this situation with Gordon will last. How long do you have Gordon still being a member of the Chargers?
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