Raiders moving forward without their mercurial wide receiver.
ALAMEDA » Raiders star receiver Antonio Brown is reportedly facing a suspension from the team after threatening to hit general manager Mike Mayock on Wednesday.
Mayock did not confirm an impending suspension when he spoke to reporters Thursday before the Raiders began practice. He issued the following statement, and then took no questions:
“Antonio Brown is not in the building today. He won’t be practicing. I don’t have any more information for you right now. When I have some and it becomes appropriate, you guys will all get it. I promise you.”
Following practice, Raiders coach Jon Gruden declined to say whether a suspension was coming and for the most part deflected questions about Brown. He did, however concede frustration.
“I’m emotional about it. I hope you understand why,” Gruden said. “I think a lot of this guy. I think Antonio is a great receiver. And I think deep down I think he’s a really good guy. I’m frustrated. I’m not going to say anything more about it. I hope it all works out, but I don’t have anything official to say about anything else until I get all the facts, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
The Raiders, according to the NFL Network, are
not expected to have Brown available to play for Monday night’s regular-season opener against the Denver Broncos. The club made no official announcement.
Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, speaking with the NFL Network while attending the Packers-Bears game in Chicago, said the situation has yet to be resolved.
“Not a lot is clear yet other than that the Raiders say that A.B. should stay home today,” Rosenhaus said. “They’re trying to work through their relationship with him. We haven’t heard anything about a potential decision yet.
“My hope is there won’t be a suspension. I’m not aware of any as of yet. That’s their decision. I’m working with them to try and avoid that scenario.”
A Raiders team source described the situation as “unpredictable.”
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Brown and Mayock got into an argument Wednesday, resulting in the team’s decision to suspend Brown.
The argument stemmed from Brown posting on his Instagram account a letter the Raiders sent him to notify him that they were fining him more than $53,000 for missing practices and walkthroughs during the preseason.
Schefter’s report did not say how long the team would suspend Brown.
According to an NFL Network report, the exchange between Brown and Mayock was not “physical” but included a “screaming match.”
Brown missed significant parts of training camp with frostbite-like injuries on his feet after a cryotherapy incident in France and twice filed grievances against the NFL to allow him to wear his preferred helmet, which he says allowed him to see better, but which was too old to be certified as safe by the league.
The NFL denied both of Brown’s grievances.
The Raiders traded thirdand fifth-round picks to the Pittsburgh Steelers in exchange for Brown in the offseason, then signed him to a three-year, $50 million extension, according to salary tracking site Spotrac.
The contract included salary guarantees totaling $30.125 million for 2019 and 2020. A suspension for conduct detrimental to the team could give the Raiders cause to void those guarantees. Brown would pocket his $1 million signing bonus and be guaranteed nothing else with his only recourse filing a grievance with the NFL. There is no recourse for getting back the thirdand fifth-round draft picks sent to the Steelers.
Mayock, however delivered an ultimatum on Aug. 18, the day Brown missed practice after losing his first grievance with the NFL over his preferred helmet. That was the last time he addressed Brown in public.
“From our perspective, it’s time for him to be all in or all out,” Mayock said. “We’ve got 89 guys busting their tails. We’re really excited about where this franchise is going,” Mayock said. “And we hope A.B. will be a big part of it, starting Week 1 against Denver.”
They Raiders knew they were receiving a talented, hard-working player who had been involved in some locker room disputes, notably with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. So far, the Raiders have mostly seen the negative side of that equation.
Louis Riddick, an ESPN analyst who has played in the NFL and worked in the front office of the Philadelphia Eagles, addressed the challenge of dealing with Brown during a conference call a short time before the report of a possible suspension.
“Coach (Nick) Saban has put it like this in the past,” Riddick said. “Are you good enough to be an A-hole? If you’re good enough, then teams find a way to tolerate and manage all the stuff that you do to put you in that A-hole category.”
Riddick saw the Mayock letter as a warning shot to Brown.
“Don’t become that guy who then we’ve got to reevaluate whether you’re good enough, where your production matches up with how much of a distraction you’ve become,” Riddick said.