The Pittsburgh Steelers dodged a bullet in the nick of time. Antonio Brown has recently asked the Raiders to release him.
To be honest, nothing surprises me anymore with Antonio Brown. The former Steelers receiver and 4-time All-Pro has been a head-case all offseason. So when news broke that he asked for his release on Instagram, I wasn’t completely shocked.
The #Raiders sent Antonio Brown two letters: one fining him $215,073 for conduct detrimental to the team stemming from the Wednesday incident, and another from GM Mike Mayock notifying him if he's released, he's not eligible for termination pay. Now AB has asked for his release.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 7, 2019
Antonio Brown recently got into an altercation with Raiders general Manager, Mike Mayock. After a yelling match that resulted in the unstable receiver punting a football, Brown asked for his release:
In all: Antonio Brown screamed at Mike Mayock, punted a ball and yelled “fine me for that.” And they did, more than $215K, plus voiding all his guarantees of $30M. AB asked for his release, knowing he’s entitled to $0. And the team hasn’t responded. Two days until game day.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 7, 2019
It’s been a nightmarish offseason for Jon Gruden, Mike Mayock, and Oakland Raiders fans everywhere. After thinking they stole Antonio Brown from Pittsburgh for the price of a 3rd and a 5th round draft choice, Oakland clearly lost out on the deal.
Antonio Brown has been nothing but a massive headache since before even joining his new team. While some people made excuses for Brown or claimed his antics would stop when he became a Raider, they only proved to escalate to the point of no return.
With the latest “release me” drama, Brown has made a strong case to be the most disliked football player of all-time.
The Raiders don’t kick off their 2019 season until 10:20 ET on Monday night, but the relationship between Gruden, Mayock, and Brown is unlikely to be restored at this point.
Brown has made it clear that he wants out, but there may not be (and probably shouldn’t be) another team in the league willing to deal with his antics. It’s time for the Raiders to cut their losses and chalk this one up as their worst trade of all-time.