It’s been a long day for the Oakland Raiders and Antonio Brown. After it was revealed that Brown and general manager Mike Mayock had an ugly confrontation that included the wide receiver threatening his 61-year old boss, a media firestorm hit Oakland. Adam Schefter reported that the Raiders could cut ties with Brown and not have to pay him any guaranteed money. Apparently, things have gotten so bad that the Raiders’ team captains have told Jon Gruden that they’ll back him no matter what decision he makes, according to David Carr.
“You go in, as the captains did today, and talk to Jon Gruden and say ‘whatever you decided to do because it was so bad because of what happened to Mike Mayock and what happened was so bad’ – they’re fine with whatever they decide,” said Carr on NFL Total Access.
David Carr is very close with his brother Derek, so there are few NFL insiders that are closer to the situation in Oakland. It’s a fascinating development that Antonio Brown probably won’t be happy about if he ends up staying with the team. By captains, it’s likely that David Carr is referring to Derek Carr, Rodney Hudson and a couple of other veteran players. Brown has gotten along with his new teammates in Oakland, so things must’ve gotten really bad if they have turned on the wide receiver.
David Carr notes that the team really wants to make it work with Brown, but his erratic behavior makes that very difficult.
“There’s a culture they’re trying to establish in Oakland and they’re trying to do things the right way and there’s one guy that’s kind of holding them up right now and that can’t be the case,” said Carr.
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Will Antonio Brown Play Against the Broncos?
If David Carr is to be believed, there’s no way Antonio Brown is suiting up for the first game of the season against the Denver Broncos.
“Right now, they don’t expect to have him,” said Carr. “He’s not going to play Monday night. As far as the players are concerned, as far as Derek’s concerned, they’re not going to have Antonio Brown for the Monday Night Football game. What happens after that, it’s really on Antonio Brown and what he decides to do as a professional, as a man.”
It seems like the ball is in Brown’s court. The Raiders have all the leverage here as they could cut him loose with little repercussions. There’s no way another team is going to give Brown the contract that Oakland did after his chronic unprofessional behavior. The toxicity that he brings to a locker room isn’t worth his talent in most cases. He needs to put aside his pride and apologize to his team and Mike Mayock. If he does that, the Raiders may only hit him with a short suspension. If he doesn’t, he could be on the free-agent market very soon.
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Raiders Team Captains Back Potential Decision to Cut Antonio Brown