Although the Las Vegas Raiders endured a disappointing finish to their final season in Oakland, it is fair to say that they may have exceeded expectations considering all the drama they had to deal with regarding wide receiver Antonio Brown in the offseason.
The Raiders made headlines when they acquired Brown from the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for a third and a fifth-round selection in the 2019 NFL Draft. While the move appeared to be quite a steal for them at the time, it would not be long before they found themselves on the short end of the deal.
Brown’s tumultuous tenure in Oakland had been one of the biggest stories of the offseason as it ultimately culminated with a confrontation with general manager Mike Mayock and then him being released. Regardless, it appears Mayock still has some regrets about how it all played out.
According to Vic Tafur of The Athletic, Mayock takes the blame for Brown trade not panning out the way the Raiders initially planned:
“I put that on me,” Mayock said in a phone interview Friday morning. “My anticipation was that he was coming off a situation in Pittsburgh where he wants to prove everybody wrong and he wants to ride into the Hall of Fame. That he was going to come in with Jon Gruden and Derek Carr and our offense and lead the way. … I really thought we were going to get the best out of Antonio Brown and we didn’t.
“We weren’t able to get anything out of him. So, at the end of the day, in hindsight, we lost a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick, and I can’t tell you how much pain that causes me.”
There is no question that this will go down as one of the biggest debacles in NFL history considering the draft capital the Raiders gave up just to garner unnecessary attention heading into the 2019 campaign. Of course, it is safe to assume Mayock may have been fighting a losing battle from the beginning considering all that has transpired with Brown ever since.
The former five-time All-Pro joined the New England Patriots following his release from Oakland, however, his stint only lasted one game due to off-field allegations that were perpetrated by him allegedly intimidating one of his accusers. Brown remains a free agent and his recent antics on social media have all but eliminated any possibility of a return to the NFL.
Perhaps it was a silver lining that Mayock and the Raiders did not have to go through a situation where they were prolonging the inevitable.
