Jilted fans quickly altering Brown’s old jersey number
OAKLAND >> It happens to every red-hot fanatic when his/her favorite athlete dishonors the colors: What do you do with the old jersey? You could dump in the garbage, but does that give you the symbolic closure you crave?
You can douse it in kerosene and flip matches at it from a safe distance. The risk there is that you many wind up having a conversation with the fire marshal.
Antonio Brown dishonored the Silver and Black in spectacular fashion without even playing a down in an exhibition game. Thoughts and prayers to those in possession of a No. 84 Raiders jersey that you haven’t even paid for yet.
This is your lucky day. Behold:
We hear that black duct tape works just as well. Problem solved!
Quicker that you can say “T.J. Houshmandzadeh” — No. 84 for your 2011 Raiders — you’ve got a jersey you can wear in the Black Hole with pride. Not to mention poise.
Even better, altering Antonio Brown’s No. 84 to 81 turns the offensive jersey into an homage to Tim Brown. Heisman Trophy winner. Hall of Famer. 100 Touchdown Club. The genius who birthed a movement by throwing an invisible flag every time he failed to make a catch. The man who once stood at the precipice of a few statistical benchmarks prior to the season’s final game and said afterward: “The talk in the locker room all week was, ‘Let’s get Tim the record in the first series if we can, then try to go out and win the game.’” God, I miss that guy. It’s unthinkable that Tim Brown would actually dishonor the colors. He is a Raider through and through. But we would be remiss if we didn’t make you aware of another Raider pass catcher named Brown. A guy who wore No. 81. Someone you might want to consider. Pharaoh Brown. Don’t recall him? That’s not surprising. He appeared in just one regular season game for the Raiders — at Philadelphia on Christmas Day 2017. A native of Cleveland, he wasn’t drafted out of college. The Raiders signed him after the 2017 NFL draft. He was waived Sept. 1, 2018. He was on the field with his hometown team on Sunday, playing on special teams in the Cleveland Browns’ loss to the Tennessee Titans.
In almost every way, Pharaoh Brown’s football odyssey is a mirror image of Tim Brown’s. He committed to Michigan after high school. Later he flipped and committed to Oregon. He was hitting his stride there in 2015, as were the Ducks, when Pharaoh sustained a severe knee injury.
Per silverandblackpride. com: “In a game against Utah, Brown stepped on a teammate’s foot near the goal line. He tore two ligaments in his knee, and the damage caused a stretched artery. The artery restricted blood flow to the rest of Brown’s leg, and doctors feared they would have to amputate. A late-night emergency surgery was performed, and Brown’s leg was saved.”
Oregon advanced to the first-ever CFP national championship game. Brown did not. Still he perseveres.
So there you have it, Raiders fan. Three Browns who suited up for your team. One a malignant drama queen. Another who lived the dream, the records the accolades, the periodic indulgences and who became synonymous with the franchise. And a guy who honors a game that almost took his leg. Consider which jersey you are about to alter. You have some thinking to do. RAIDERS INACTIVES >> Defensive tackle Corey Liuget and guard Jonathan Cooper were among the Raiders’ seven inactive players Monday night for their regular season opener against The Denver Broncos.
Liuget was listed as questionable with an ankle injury. The eight-year veteran was signed to an already crowded field of defensive tackles on Aug. 25.
With Liuget inactive, the Raiders will have three active tackles — starters Maurice Hurst and Johnathan Hankins and second-year player P.J. Hall. In nickel situations, rookie defensive end Clelin Ferrell has done some work on the inside, and end Josh Mauro is also capable of playing over a guard.
Cooper was considered a potential starter at one of the guard spots because of the a two-game suspension served by Richie Incognito and a knee injury to Gabe Jackson. Instead, he watched from the sideline as Denzelle Good and Jordan Devey start at guard.
With Cooper inactive, the first man up as a reserve guard will likely be Andre James, the undrafted rookie out of UCLA who played tackle in college but is being played at center and guard by the Raiders. He played extensively during the preseason at center.
Other inactives for the Raiders were Jackson, who could miss a quarter of the season, quarterback DeShone Kizer, tackle David Sharpe and safety Dallin Leavitt.
Also inactive was Keelan Doss, who was officially resigned to the roster Monday. Doss watched from the sideline as the Raiders went through their pregame warmups. He has been with the practice squad of the Jacksonville Jaguars since being waived at the final cutdown.
Doss spent time on the Raiders sideline talking to Colby Wadman of the Broncos, a punter and a teammate at UC Davis. Players are not made available for interviews during pregame warmups.