Raiders News: Derek Carr And Jon Gruden Address Antonio Brown Drama For Final Time
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

The last week has been nothing but drama for the Oakland Raiders and Antonio Brown after a number of incidents forced him out of the organization. The star wide receiver asked for his release, which the Raiders granted, and he has since signed with the New England Patriots in a stunning turn of events.

The Raiders hosted their first game of the season on Monday night against the Denver Broncos, and while most of the outside attention was on the Brown situation, Oakland took care of business as a football team.

Brown wasn’t around for much of training camp and the preseason either, so the Raiders were used to functioning without him as they went 3-1 in their exhibition slate. So while it surprised many across the league, the Raiders were not surprised when they defeated the Broncos, 24-16, to begin the season on a high note.

Raiders head coach Jon Gruden addressed the Brown saga for the final time after the win, and he was impressed with his team’s ability to fight through adversity and come out on top, via Josh Schrock of NBC Sports:

“What happened here the last couple days may have been, you know, big news to some, but there were no distractions,” Gruden said when asked about the last five days of Brown drama. “I think you could tell that tonight, our team was ready to roll.

“I’m never going to bring it up again,” Gruden said. “That incident, whatever you call it, had nothing to do with our team’s focus or preparation. That’s it. End of story.”

It was easy to see that Gruden was tired of talking about it, but he wished both Brown and the Patriots well as his final comment:

“As much as people talk about it, I mean my god,” Gruden said when asked if the Raiders surprised people with their showing without AB. “Man, I feel like someone smashed me in my temple on the side of the head. Get over it, man. It’s over. You know? We were good in the preseason without him. We’re going to be fine without him. And we wish him the best.

“You know, we gave it a shot,” Gruden said before delivering his Don Corleone final line in the Brown saga. “Now New England gets their turn. Good luck to them. I can’t deal with it anymore.”

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr didn’t speak to the media after Brown was released on Saturday, so he also commented on the matter for the first time on Monday night, offering a similar sentiment as Gruden, via Scott Bair of NBC Sports:

“I love AB. He knows that,” Carr said. “I spent lots of time with him. I can go on, but he’s not here. He’s with someone else, and I wish him the best. I hope he goes off, and gets everything he wants. I sent him a text saying that.

“There’s no hurt feelings. There’s no anger in me. There wasn’t any anger in me when I found out, to he honest with you, despite what people wrote. Some people saw me right after and thought I was mad about that, when [PR staffer Evert Geerlings] will tell you we were talking about something totally different. Again, when you don’t have all the details and you just write something about me, I don’t like that.

”He’s gone. I wish him the best.”

Carr did not seem to be missing his top receiver as he completed 22 of 26 passes for 259 yards and a touchdown, posting an excellent 94.1 QBR. That touchdown was caught by the team’s other wide receiver acquisition this offseason, Tyrell Williams, as he builds chemistry with Carr to potentially develop into his new top option.

Williams caught six passes for 105 yards in his Raiders debut, which had to have been extra special for him playing in front of so many family members.

Now that the Brown saga is over with and the Raiders are off to a good start, the focus can shift back to the field and their Week 2 matchup with the defending division champion Kansas City Chiefs.