Getty Oakland Raiders WR Antonio Brown showed off his blistered feet on "Hard Knocks."
In perhaps the least surprising thing the Oakland Raiders are finding out about their team is that Antonio Brown is really good. Like legendarily good. General manager Mike Mayock was as shocked as the rest of the world when the Pittsburgh Steelers gave him up for a third and fourth-round draft pick. Obviously, the Steelers were eager to get rid of him because of his disruptive nature, but he’s been nothing but great since he joined the silver and black.
Brown has been nursing a minor injury to start camp. It doesn’t appear to be anything too serious. He takes incredibly good care of himself, so it was in all likelihood just a precaution to keep him limited in the first few practices. Well, he was a bigger participant at Tuesday’s practice and showed the team why he’s considered one of the best receivers in the NFL.
Antonio Brown Returns to Raiders Practice & Puts on a Show
It didn’t take long for Brown to steal the spotlight from his fellow receivers. Tyrell Williams, J.J. Nelson and Hunter Renfrow were all coming on very strong in the first few practices, but Brown has proven that he’s still on another level. He’s the unquestioned leader of the squad and the Raiders might just have one of the best receiving corps in the NFL in 2019. Here are some of the takes from what people are seeing from Brown:
Antonio Brown works on getting separation against Gareon Conley at #Raiders camp.
Carr drops in a deep one to Antonio Brown. Too easy, one Raiders official says
After beating Travon Mullen deep, Antonio Brown does it to Gareon Conley.
Through one-on-one drills, the only guy able to stay with Antonio Brown was Lamarcus Joyner. All others were roasted. #Raiders
That’s a productive day for a player who’s nursing an injury. Everybody seems to love Amari Cooper these days, but Brown is an obvious improvement over him. Quarterback Derek Carr is likely chomping at the bit to get to the regular season so Brown and he can show off. He’s caused headaches in the past, but Brown is one of the best. Wide receivers are known for being divas. However, Brown isn’t out partying or doing stupid things. He mostly just workouts and spends time with his kids. Sure, he says outrageous things from time to time, but in the grand scheme of things, he’s not hurting himself or anybody else.
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Back, but Still Limited
As memorable as Brown’s Tuesday appearance was, it was short-lived. After running a few drills with the team, he took off his pads and hit the sideline.
Raiders WR Antonio Brown changed out of pads. Officially done for today. No evidence of setback. His final rep was long TD vs. CB Gareon Conley.
The Raiders seem to be easing him back into action. No sense in rushing a player of Brown’s caliber back to the practice field if he’s not 100 percent. Either that or the coaching staff is already tired of seeing him embarrass the defense. He doesn’t have an extensive injury history, but it’s still a situation worth monitoring. It’s hard to imagine Brown will be a big part of the team’s plans for preseason. The Hard Knocks cameras have been following Brown everywhere he goes, so maybe more will be revealed when the first episode airs on August 6.
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