Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown was the subject of rumors and reports Friday. What are the overreactions and legitimate concerns?
Reports and rumors concerning Antonio Brown put social media on full tilt Friday. After his grotesque photo of his blistered feet made rounds around the web over the past few weeks, a more serious issue came to the forefront.
Has the relationship between him and the Oakland Raiders gone sour after five months?
NFL Network’s Mike Silver tweeted a thread chronicling a drama between Brown and the league concerning his choice of helmet — a saga with the Raiders caught in the middle.
THREAD: 1) Even before suffering bizarre injuries to his feet, Antonio Brown alarmed Raiders coaches and teammates by railing against the NFL’s enhanced enforcement of helmet regulations, a policy change which will likely force the star receiver to switch to a new model...
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) August 9, 2019
According to Silver, Brown had an issue with complying with safety regulations that forbid him from wearing the helmet he’s used for his entire career. ESPN’s Adam Schefter confirmed the Raiders wideout filed a grievance and participated in a two-hour conference call with an independent arbitrator about the issue.
Among the eye-catching details in Silver’s tweets, he cited a “disconnect” between Brown and the Raiders. One of his sources also noted his aloof behavior during team meetings, which was deemed as a secondary problem to the dispute concerning the helmet.
Silver tweeted, “He’s still freaking out about it,” said one Raiders player. “He hasn’t been here for awhile, and no one knows where he’s at.”
Schefter reported Brown would retire if he cannot take the field with his old helmet, but Las Vegas Review-Journal‘s Michael Gehlken‘s painted a different picture Friday night.
"“The Raiders are optimistic Antonio Brown is ready to wear a helmet,” Gehlken wrote. “Their star wide receiver is expected to rejoin the club at its training camp headquarters in the near future, a team official said.”"
We’ve yet to hear from Brown himself. General manager Mike Mayock and head coach Jon Gruden wouldn’t benefit from commenting on this matter. So, we’re left to follow the breadcrumbs, which leads to speculation.
What’s going on here? Is this a storyline manufactured to generate views for HBO’s Hard Knocks? Do the Raiders have a legitimate problem with their superstar playmaker? Is this much ado about nothing?
Let’s go through some the overreactions and legitimate concerns the Raiders may have about Brown.