As recently as two years ago, fans, owners, and teammates alike would be chomping at the bit to acquire a talent like Antonio Brown. The former Pittsburgh Steelers star wideout may have alienated himself from a lot of teams by this point, however, as his offseason has been one of the more dramatic we’ve seen in a long time.
Dating back to last year when AB started bringing issues into the locker room, it’s been an increasingly volatile situation. Picking fights with now former teammates, demanding a trade and then squashing terms that he didn’t agree with, and continually throwing shade in questionable places – that’s just the beginning of it.
Now on the Raiders, AB has already threatened to retire if he’s not allowed to wear a particular kind of banned helmet, he’s skipped team practices and meetings, and he’s gotten into verbal altercations with Raiders staff, most notably Raiders GM Mike Mayock.
The kettle is finally whistling as the dramatic summer boils over and reaches its penultimate moment.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the Raider voided AB’s guaranteed money based on the amount of fines for detrimental conduct to the team.
How do you think that sat with Brown? Err… not well.
There it is – an official demand for release (or at least, as official as an Instagram post can be). With Brown apparently issuing an emotional apology to the Raiders players and staff, it looked like there was a chance the two sides actually tie it together in time for their Monday night clash with the Denver Broncos.
Now, it seems less likely than ever.
