Antonio Brown has been making a habit of stealing away headlines all offseason. Since he was traded to the Raiders, most of the headlines have been positive. Whether he’s working out in Hawaii or arriving at training camp in a hot air balloon, Brown loves the spotlight to be on him. He looks to be in top form heading into training camp, but it looks like he could miss some of the first practices. According to ESPN’s Field Yates and confirmed by the Raiders, Brown has been placed on the non-football injury list to begin camp. This comes out of left field considering he seems pumped for training camp, but it could just be a precaution.
Antonio Brown Injury Shouldn’t Be Cause for Concern
Field Yates posted a subsequent tweet that the injury was described as “very minor.” He also noted that players commonly get removed from the list after not much time passes.
Like previously stated, this is likely just a precaution. Few people on this planet take care of their bodies like Antonio Brown does. Brown will probably be on the practice field in no time. History would tell us that Brown doesn’t like to take many days off. It’ll probably eat him alive that he’s not practicing out there with his teammates.
Brown doesn’t have an extensive injury history and hasn’t missed many games in his career. Expect him to be back on the field in no time. It wouldn’t be surprising if he’s suited for tomorrow’s practice.
UPDATE:
According to Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune/Bay Area Newspaper Group, Brown will miss “probably” miss a week of camp and the Raiders have known about the issue for a couple of weeks. The specific injury is still unknown.
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Jon Gruden Takes Jabs at Antonio Brown
In Jon Gruden’s first press conference for training camp, he made a number of notable comments. He also took some time to poke fun at his new star wide receiver. When asked what he thought about the drama that Brown brings, Gruden gave a very Gruden response.
“I expect a lot more drama from No. 84. I really do,” Gruden said. “I told Antonio to try not to yell at [quarterback Derek Carr], yell at me when you have a problem. Then he started yelling at me, and I said, ‘Don’t yell at me, yell at [Greg Olson] he’s the offensive coordinator.'”
Watching Brown and Gruden go back and forth on Hard Knocks should make for some good TV. GM Mike Mayock and Gruden also commented on Brown’s hot air balloon entrance into training camp.
“Where did he land?” a confused Mayock asked. “Is he here?”
“Is he OK? That’s all I want to know,” Gruden said as he smirked.
Gruden praised fellow new Raider WR Tyrell Williams and took the opportunity to take one last jab at Antonio Brown.
“I don’t want to overshadow Tyrell Williams, either,” Gruden said. “He’s cut from the same cloth. Just quiet. Doesn’t jump out of balloons in hot air. Hopefully, he doesn’t learn that from Antonio.”
Neither Mayock nor Gruden mentioned anything about an injury to Brown, so that means it’s probably nothing significant. However, whether or not he hits the practice field tomorrow will be a situation worth monitoring.
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