Antonio Brown: A Timeline of His Fallout With the Oakland Raiders
From frostbite to helmet drama, we made an entire timeline of Antonio Brown's short-lived career with the Oakland Raiders.
Image via Getty/Kevin French/Icon Sportswire
The announcement on Saturday morning sent shockwaves through the NFL: the Oakland Raiders had released star receiver Antonio Brown.
AB is one of the most gifted offensive players in the league—once a sixth-round pick out of Central Michigan, he’s blossomed into an unstoppable weapon, making six straight Pro Bowls. And it's clear that, despite being 31 years old, he still has plenty left in the tank to contribute on the field. Last season, while splitting targets with receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and RB1 James Conner, Brown racked up 104 catches for 1,297 yards and a career-high 15 touchdowns. In his last game of the season, he had two touchdowns and 185 receiving yards. He looked as capable as he ever has.
And yet, Antonio Brown is—as of September 7, 2019—a free agent. Life comes at you fast.
Ultimately, his off-the-field antics and distracting personality have fueled his rapid demise. After acquiring him in April, Mike Mayock and Jon Gruden were fed up by September. Brown’s release from the Raiders marked the culmination of an insane few months for the troubled star.
While we wait to see what’s next in his career—is he about to go off for 1,000 yards with Tom Brady, or maybe give even more Super Bowl hope to Cowboys fans?—let’s all relive the almost-too-crazy-to-believe Antonio Brown Drama with a timeline of his chaotic and classic 2019.
February 12, 2019: Antonio Brown Publicly Asks Steelers to Trade Him
The end of the 2018 season was tumultuous. Brown got into a tiff with QB Ben Roethlisberger, then missed practices, and Mike Tomlin benched him for Week 17 against the Bengals. It was clear something was off in the player-team relationship, which seemed irreparable. In February, Brown ominously tweeted a thank you to Steelers fans, saying it was “time to move on and forward.” He spent the first nine years of his career in the black and yellow and seven times eclipsed 1,000 yards.
March 1, 2019: AB Spills the Tea on 'The Shop'
LeBron James’ barbershop-set HBO series offers quality entertainment for those who like to see behind the scenes of athletes’ lives, wondering, What are they really thinking? During an early-spring episode, Brown—sporting a truly baffling blonde-dyed mustache—made an appearance and dished on his much-maligned 2018 season.
Brown refuted the notion that he’s a “distraction,” and his displeasure with Pittsburgh and how the organization handled the end of the season was evident. He also ripped Roethlisberger and the QB’s “owner mentality.” Yeah...this guy was not coming back to Pittsburgh.
March 9, 2019: The Steelers Trade Brown to the Raiders
Once it became clear that AB was on the trade market, rumors about where he’d end up flooded the internet, with multiple options appearing feasible. At one point, it even seemed pretty certain he was headed to the Buffalo Bills. That rumor fizzled, though, and a couple of days later he was moved to the rebuilding Oakland Raiders. The Raiders had shipped their No. 1 WR, Amari Cooper, to Dallas in the previous season and were looking for a top pass-catching target for Derek Carr.
In exchange, Pittsburgh received third- and fifth-round selections in the 2019 draft. It wasn’t too big a loss for Oakland, as the Raiders had loaded up on picks from dealing Cooper and Khalil Mack.
March 13, 2019: Antonio Brown Introduced in Oakland
AB seemed to have new life on his first official day as a Raider. In a press conference, he told the media that “I’m here to elevate everything around me. I’m here to just be a surge of energy, of positivity, and good force. A great teammate and to bring out the best of everyone around me ’cause we all know it's not just about me.” Pretty ironic to read those words now.
April 7, 2019: Brown Chirps at JuJu
Brown and JuJu were arguably the most dynamic 1-2 wideout combination in the NFL last season, and it seemed like destiny for Brown to eventually pass the mantle to the younger Smith-Schuster. But there was always a degree of tension in that relationship—even as they were appearing in Pizza Hut commercials together!—because A.B. didn’t want to pass the mantle to anyone.
After the season, Brown’s frustration (jealousy, perhaps?) resulted in him tweeting that JuJu “fumbled the whole post season in the biggest game of year” after the Steelers had named JuJu offensive MVP. As it does these days, one stupid diss spiraled into a social media saga. You’ve got to feel for JuJu: the young wide receiver didn’t seem to do anything wrong, aside from being drafted by a team that had Antonio Brown.
April 25, 2019: Twitter Beef With Ryan Clark
While all this 2019 Brown nonsense was roller-coastering around the internet, Steelers safety and current ESPN analyst Ryan Clark had repeatedly criticized Brown, saying the receiver was a selfish “me guy,” a bad teammate, and “just not a good human.” Brown got fed up and fired back, threatening that “next time we meet it’s on site ain’t gone spare u.” The two exchanged shots on Twitter.
July 26, 2019: AB Shows Up to Raiders Camp in Hot Air Balloon
Brown has become known around the league for his epic arrivals at training camp—some hate them (he’s a prima donna!), some love them (it offers entertainment during what’s generally a dull time for the league), but everyone pays attention to them. In 2018, for example, he reported to Steelers camp in a helicopter.
As for his first go-round with the Raiders? The man touched down in Napa in a hot air balloon.
August 3, 2019: AB Reveals He Has Frostbite on His Feet
The first sign of trouble with his new team appeared in early August, when Brown posted a photo on Instagram showing his feet with some seriously nasty blisters, later determined to be frostbite. Apparently, the injury was caused by a failure to wear proper footwear during a cryotherapy session (stay woke). He ended up only participating in one of 11 training camp practices.
August 9, 2019: The Helmet Grievance
But oh, the drama was only beginning. One week later, Brown filed a grievance against the NFL for not allowing him to wear his favorite style of helmet, a Schutt AiR Advantage, which was not compliant with league standards and which the company had stopped making in 2011. I mean, he was desperate to wear this thing (he even threatened to retire if he didn’t get his way!). But an arbitrator ruled in favor of the league, rejecting Brown's grievance.
August 18, 2019: Raiders GM Mike Mayock Says 'It's Time for Him to Be All-In or All-Out'
Brown was missing practice amid his ongoing helmet dispute, and the team’s frustrated GM, Mayock, issued a challenge to the receiver. “At this point, we've pretty much exhausted all avenues of relief," Mayock said of the helmet saga. "So from our perspective, it's time for him to be all-in or all-out." This marked a turning point at which pundits began discussing whether the Raiders would actually move on and trade or cut Brown, whom they had just acquired months earlier. (Oh yes, they actually would.)
August 19, 2019: Yet Another Helmet Grievance
Brown wasn’t over the helmet thing—far from it. He filed a second grievance against the league...which was also rejected. Brown said all his new options obstructed his view, so he was passionate about sticking with the AiR Advantage—the only helmet he had used in his pro career—but the NFL simply wasn’t going to allow it, Dikembe Mutombo’ing his efforts.
September 4, 2019: AB Reveals New Helmet
The helmet drama finally came to a close when Brown announced he would wear the Xenith Shadow helmet in the upcoming season. “Brown believes the Xenith Shadow makes him feel more agile and comfortable and allows for better visibility,” Adam Schefter tweeted.
Raiders fans were finally able to relax—for, like, an hour. That same day, Brown received a $54,000 fine from Mayock for his absences from team events and practices.
September 5, 2019: Confrontation With Mike Mayock in Front of Team
Brown had posted a photo of the letter announcing his fines on Instagram, a disclosure which led to widespread criticism (why would he share that sensitive information?). The next day, the receiver confronted Mayock at practice; he reportedly called the GM a "cracker" (which Brown later denied) and had to be separated from the executive by teammates, including linebacker Vontaze Burfict. Brown also reportedly punted a football and told Mayock to “fine me for that.” The Raiders reportedly planned to suspend Brown for the fracas.
September 6, 2019: Raiders Say Antonio Brown Will Play Week 1
The next day, Brown—while joined by the Raiders’ captains—reportedly issued an “emotional apology” at a team meeting. Coach Gruden was asked later that afternoon if Brown would be playing in Week 1, and he said, “That's the plan. Yes.”
When Brown himself faced the media, he read a statement: “I’m excited to be out here today. I apologized to my teammates and the organization. Enough talk, man. I’m excited to be out here with my teammates. I’m grateful for all the fans. I’m excited to be a part of the Raiders and see you guys soon.”
To cap off the night, Brown posted a dramatic video on his YouTube page featuring a private conversation with Gruden.
September 7, 2019: Raiders Release Antonio Brown
Though it seemed on Friday like Brown would be in the lineup for Monday Night Football, everything had changed 24 hours later. The Raiders voided the guaranteed money ($29.125 million) on Brown's deal, and Brown consequently demanded his release. His wish was granted. The team announced the transaction on Twitter, punctuating the bizarre Antonio Brown Raiders Era.
And now, we wait to see what comes next. "Now that Antonio is a free agent, we are focused on the future and I will immediately work on signing him to a new team," said Brown's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, in a statement. "Antonio is looking forward to a new beginning."