The circus is alive and well in Oakland.
Antonio Brown’s short-lived time with the Raiders has been absolutely bananas and seemed to reach a breaking point when reports surfaced he might be suspended for the Raiders’ Week 1 game after a blow-up with general manager Mike Mayock. Some even wondered whether Oakland would cut the star wideout it acquired just this offseason.
But as the curtain came up on the clown show Friday, cooler heads apparently prevailed. After we learned more specifics of the Brown-Mayock spat, ESPN’s Josina Anderson reported Brown apologized to his teammates and met with captains Friday morning.
Source: #Raiders WR Antonio Brown just issued “an emotional apology” at a team meeting this morning, just now, “with team captains standing with him.”
— JosinaAnderson (@JosinaAnderson) September 6, 2019
Moments later, NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reported there’s now a chance Brown plays Monday night against the Denver Broncos.
Here is a sense of how quickly things are changing in Oakland: Yesterday, #Raiders coach Jon Gruden told people AB was not in their plans for Monday. Now, I hear… there is a real chance he not only does not get suspended but actually plays. Wild times
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 6, 2019
So, that’s something.
Brown, a four-time All-Pro, obviously is a special talent and one of the best players in football. But it’s very obvious he wore out his welcome in Pittsburgh, prompting the trade to Oakland. The Raiders probably are regretting that move at the moment, and they’re certainly not sending a very stern message to the rest of the locker room if Brown plays Monday night. Then again, Oakland is coming off a 4-12 season a year ago, so message-sending probably will end up taking a backseat to desperately trying to turn things around.
