Derek Carr and Antonio Brown work on building chemistry.
As Antonio Brown peeled off from a non-targeted route Tuesday, Derek Carr faced him and yelled, “Antonio!” The two then performed a dance before jogging away to the next drill.
Early this offseason, relationship building appears to be a priority for the Raiders’ quarterback and his new marquee receiver.
Brown was absent from the first day of organized team activities last week, but reported on Day 2. He addressed the media Tuesday for the first time since his introductory news conference in March and spoke mainly about learning his Oakland teammates and offense.
“I’m embracing the new,” Brown said. “Excited about the opportunity to put my conditioning on display and work on my mentality to learn the plays and take it all in.”
Brown and Carr quickly made contact in March when the Raiders acquired Brown from the Steelers for third- and fifth-round draft picks. A day before the trade became official, the two worked out together at an Oakland park. Carr said it was one of multiple occasions when he met with new receivers to throw before the start of
“He’s at my house. He’s coming to my kids’ birthday parties. He is coming to throw with me every day whenever I need him.” Derek Carr, Raiders quarterback, to Sirius XM about his relationship with wide receiver Antonio Brown
the Raiders’ offseason program.
In an interview with Sirius XM Radio last week, Carr described Brown as the “greatest worker I’ve ever seen in my life.”
“He’s at my house. He’s coming to my kids’ birthday parties. He is coming to throw with me every day whenever I need him,” Carr said. “He’s flying out whenever I say, ‘Hey, man, are you in town?’ He’ll say, ‘Yes,’ and show up the next day.”
Brown’s exit from Pittsburgh included a reported split with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Late last season, Roethlisberger publicly criticized Brown’s route on a play that ended in an interception. In February, Brown tweeted Roethlisberger had an “owner mentality” and the two did not have “mutual respect.” In an interview last week, Roethlisberger said he’d gone “too far” in his criticism of Brown.
Brown did not discuss Roethlisberger on Tuesday. Brown did emphasize the need to build a rapport with new teammates in Oakland outside of football.
“It’s tremendously important to have a relationship off the field,” Brown said. “Because playing football, you get mentally tired. You get frustrated. You always want to have that respect for a guy, to know where he’s coming from, know what he stands for and what’s important to him, so you guys can be on the same page and do what you desire to do. And you desire to win.”
Raiders head coach Jon Gruden previously has said he believes Brown is the “hardest-working man in football.” Offensive coordinator Greg Olson said Tuesday that Brown “has shown that” during offseason workouts.
“Especially if you’re in that wide-receiver group, you’re going to have to jump in and follow his lead,” Olson said. “He doesn’t ask (teammates) to do anything that he doesn’t do.”