Brown gets in headgear at last
Wide receiver who has butted heads with NFL over his helmet joins Raiders at practice
ALAMEDA, CALIF. — The saga involving Antonio Brown and his choice of helmet entered a new phase Tuesday as coach Jon Gruden said his marquee receiver wore a helmet and was a full participant in the Oakland Raiders’ practice at their East Bay headquarters.
Brown was on the field well before 11 a.m. when stretches began. He left the field to briefly enter the team’s field house, but came back right before the stretching period ended.
He was seen later coming off the practice field at the Raiders facility with a helmet in hand.
“It is a certified helmet,” Gruden said. “He’s all-in, ready to go. That’s my understanding. We’re happy to have him out here. He’s a great player.”
On Monday, Brown filed a second grievance against the National Football League that once again sought for him to wear his preferred Schutt Air Advantage helmet, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Brown lost his first grievance with the NFL on Aug. 13. Brown prefers his brand of helmet and believes it allows him better vision than the alternatives provided by the team. Brown’s helmet is more than 10 years old and thus cannot be certified as safe.
On Monday, Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, a guest on ESPN’s “Get Up,” said he and Brown were seeking a “permanent solution” to the helmet issue, and this grievance seems to be the manifestation of that solution from Brown’s perspective.
The Raiders left Napa after they broke camp Monday.
On Tuesday, Gruden said Brown looked “really good” as the team went through a roughly hour-long practice. Brown suffered frostbite in his feet following a cryotherapy session in France last month.
“He’s shown great retention of what we’re doing,” Gruden said. “It’s good to have him back. He’s in great shape, running hard and running good routes.”
On Sunday, Raiders GM Mike Mayock issued an ultimatum of sorts, saying it was “time for him to be all in, or all out.”
“We’ve got 89 guys busting their tails,” Mayock said. “We’re really excited about where this franchise is going. And we hope A.B. will be a big part of it, starting Week 1 against Denver. End of story. No questions.”
Gruden said he was still finalizing who would play Thursday when the Raiders face the Green Bay Packers in Winnipeg in their third pre-season game. “I wouldn’t read into all the ‘Hard Knocks’ being a distraction or the Antonio Brown distraction. There’s been no distractions,” he said.
“We’ve got 89 guys working hard. Our film is out there for you to watch. Our first two games, if you see a distracted football team, then I disagree with you.
“I’m not going to make any more of it than that. There’s a lot of teams missing star players.”