30 best moves made during the 2019 NFL offseason
By Randy Gurzi
7. Oakland Raiders trade for Antonio Brown, sign Tyrell Williams
The Oakland Raiders have been the talk of the NFL the past two offseasons. First, it was the re-hiring of Jon Gruden who signed a 10-year, $100 million to coach the Raiders — the same club he started his head coaching career with back in 1998.
This offseason, it was several things that had people talking. There was the hiring of Mike Mayock as general manager, as well as the fact that they owned three picks in the first round of the draft.
Then, they got more attention as they were involved in a high-profile trade. For just a third and fifth-round selection, the Raiders landed Brown who is coming off his sixth consecutive 1,000-yard receiving season.
There’s some baggage that comes along with him though, as Brown left the Pittsburgh Steelers due to a public feud with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. During that dispute, he attacked Roethlisberger’s character and then had some parting shots, including some directed at fellow wideout JuJu Smith-Schuster.
Oakland will need him to move on and focus on the field. If the Raiders can do that, Brown will be a steal for what they gave up form him in that deal with Pittsburgh.
Brown wasn’t their only big receiver addition either, as Oakland added former Los Angeles Chargers wideout Tyrell Williams. The 6-foot-4 Williams averages 16.3 yards per catch in his career and went for 1,059 yards in 2016. Putting him opposite of Brown gives the Raiders a strong aerial attack heading into 2019.