The Oakland Raiders announced on Saturday morning that they have released star wide receiver Antonio Brown from the organization.
The move is a shocking one considering they traded third and fifth-round picks to the Pittsburgh Steelers to acquire him this past offseason and then gave him a contract extension.
Ever since Brown has come into the organization he has done nothing but cause drama though, starting with getting frostbite on his feet right before training camp and then dealing with a helmet issue with the league.
Brown then got into it with general manager Mike Mayock at practice this past week after he was issued a fine for missing a previous walkthrough.
The Raiders threatened to suspend Brown, but it seemed as if all was resolved when he was back at practice on Friday and apologized to all of his teammates, causing Raiders head coach Jon Gruden to announce that he will be playing in Monday night’s season opener against the Denver Broncos.
It appears that was just the beginning though as Brown released the following video on Friday night addressing his entire situation, which included a private phone call with Gruden:
Brown then took to social media again early Saturday morning to ask for his release as the Raiders issued more fines to him:
Jeff Darlington of ESPN was able to track Brown down and figure out what was actually going on, and it turns out the Raiders tried to take away the guarantees in his contract, which angered him:
I just got an email from Antonio Brown. He tells me the team “took away my guarantees.” He added there’s “no way I play after they took that and made my contract week to week.” So at this moment, once again, don’t expect AB to play on Monday Night Football.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) September 7, 2019
By releasing Brown now, the Raiders will save around $30 million as they do not have to pay him a single dime. Brown is now a free agent and able to sign with any team that will have him.
It is unfortunate that the partnership between Brown and the Raiders had to end before it even started, but after everything that has unfolded over the last month, it seems like it may be the best for both parties involved to just move on.
With Brown no longer in the mix, Tyrell Williams becomes the Raiders’ top receiver and Hunter Renfrow, J.J. Nelson and Ryan Grant should all see increased playing time.
