The Oakland Raiders drama with star wide receiver Antonio Brown during training camp this year seemed innocent at first, but it got real on Thursday morning.
Brown missed a handful of practices due to feet and helmet issues, and as is normally the case for players who miss practice, Raiders general manager Mike Mayock decided to fine him.
Brown took exception to that fine, taking to social media to express his displeasure. That displeasure then carried over to the practice field on Wednesday as Brown reportedly got into a shouting match with Mayock and needed to be held back by teammates.
Because of Brown’s behavior, it was reported on Thursday morning that the Raiders are considering suspending him, which could cost him almost $30 million in guaranteed money in his contract.
Mayock spoke to the media at Thursday’s practice and while he would not say if Brown is being suspended or not, he did say that he is not in attendance for practice, per Myles Simmons of the Las Vegas Review-Journal:
“Antonio Brown is not in the building today — he won’t be practicing.” – #Raiders GM Mike Mayock. Added that’s all the information he has and he’ll share more when he has more.
— Myles Simmons (@MylesASimmons) September 5, 2019
It is clear that Brown and Mayock are currently at odds, so it will be interesting to see where things go from here. On one end of the spectrum, it is possible that Brown never plays a single snap for the Raiders, and on the other end, it is possible he suits up for their Week 1 matchup against the Denver Broncos Monday night and ends up having another Pro Bowl season.
The Raiders have to be hoping it is the latter after giving up third and fifth-round picks to acquire him from the Pittsburgh Steelers this offseason.
However it ends up, it appears that this saga is nowhere close to being over.