It was only a matter of time before Antonio Brown’s stay in Oakland would become unbearable. I just don’t know how many of us thought it would happen before week one.
Brown has been a pain in the butt. Whether it was his frost-bitten feet or skipping practice because he couldn’t use an unapproved helmet, he’s been a handful.
That came to a head today as Brown and, Raiders GM, Mike Mayock, reportedly had it out. That has led to reports that Brown will be suspended by the Raiders. By suspending him before week one, Brown’s contract will not be guaranteed throughout the season. That seems to give the Raiders leverage if you believe that if the Raiders release him, he won’t be picked up by another team. We all know, if the Raiders release him, he’ll be picked up by another team.
The lazy thing to do is to call Brown a diva and absolve the Raiders of any responsibility. That would be a grave mistake. The whole Brown situation falls squarely on Jon Gruden and Mayock.
It was Gruden who undermined GM Reggie McKenzie and replaced him with a TV guy. From there Gruden set out to get rid of any impactful McKenzie pick. Khalil Mack was sent to the Chicago Bears. Amari Cooper was next. Cooper was jettisoned to Dallas.
Armed with a ten-year deal, Gruden was going to make this team in his image.
You weren’t going to be able to say what was said in Tampa. His predecessor with the Bucs built the Super Bowl winner. Gruden and Bruce Allen’s Bucs got them both fired.
In doing this, Gruden sent away a dominant young pass rushers and a young big play receiver. Mack still hasn’t been successfully replaced and Cooper’s replacement is now staring at a suspension.
Oh, and don’t forget, another one of the Raiders “prized” offseason acquisition was Richie Incognito. Currently, Incognito is suspended by the NFL.
When leadership is making decisions like those, why are they getting a free pass? They know who Brown is. They know who Incognito is. They traded away a dominant pass rusher to show “who was boss”. Cooper was sent away because he supposedly didn’t fit into Gruden’s plans.
That’s the problem with the NFL and it’s fans. They’re trained to blame the players when it’s the front office that needs to be held accountable.
Oakland’s mess is on Gruden and Mayock. Both let their sense of entitlement take over common sense and they should be held accountable at every turn.
