Antonio Brown is threatening to never play a snap of football again if he is forced to switch to a new helmet. His threat may not be legit, but his absence for selfish reasons a great concern.
It just wouldn’t be right if the Oakland Raiders weren’t in the news regarding some drama. In this case, it is Antonio Brown who is on the forefront, and no it is not about his frostbitten feet shockingly.
The latest coming out of Oakland is that Brown has been missing practice because of displeasure with the NFL rule that will not allow him to wear the Schutt helmet he was worn throughout his career. New regulations are in place that state his current helmet is not authorized for use in NFL games.
Brown has taken it so far that he has been away from the team to dispute this and file grievances to the league. He has taken it so far that he is threatening to never play football again if he is forced to wear another helmet.
Well this story definitely isn’t short on the dramatics. Whether Brown’s threat is legit or not, which I don’t think it is, his absence from the team for his selfish reasons is very concerning.
And now this: Raiders’ WR Antonio Brown has told team officials that, unless he gets to wear his old helmet, he will not play football again, per league sources.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 9, 2019
And more....
It is these selfish reasons that the Oakland Raiders were able to acquire him so cheaply for only a third and fifth round pick. The same selfish reasons that he sat out of the final regular season game in 2018 with the Pittsburgh Steelers. It is always telling when a team trades away a player because they know that player best, especially when it is an All-Pro player who was given up for nothing.
Why did they give him up for so little? What is it that they know?
Well we have finally reached the answer to these questions. We haven’t even kicked off the 2019 regular season and Brown is already causing disruption in the locker room. Numerous reports of coaches and players being upset and annoyed with Brown have been flowing in all over.
Why wouldn’t they be upset? Just imagine how Jon Gruden feels. Now it all makes sense as to why he hasn’t wanted to delve into the subject of Antonio Brown because he’s likely embarrassed.
All Gruden has stated on the matter beforehand is that he’s “disappointed” and now we know why. Gruden went out of his way to acquire Brown when no one else appeared interested. Gave Brown his money that he had been screaming for and this is how Brown repays him? I would find out hard to believe that the Raiders didn’t have an idea on what kind of a player they were bringing in when they traded for him.
It’s just the fact that we are yet to play the first preseason game and this is already blowing up.
The only way for all of this to become a sobered up topic is when Monday Night Football comes along against the Denver Broncos. Antonio Brown is going to have to light them up and keep balling out for the coming weeks. That is the only way to stick it to the critics because that is what Gruden brought him in for. To help the team win on game day, but right now Brown isn’t helping the team out by any measure.
His presence on the field would’ve greatly benefited the team, but instead he’s been out on his own venture the same way as he was with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Once again, this will only dissipate if Brown balls out on game day. Until then these next few weeks are going to be rough news days for the Oakland Raiders.