ALAMEDA, Calif. — The Raiders reached the end of the line with Antonio Brown on Saturday morning, granting his request for a release.
Brown requested his release Saturday morning on Instagram when he reportedly learned of new fines incurred for behavior this week. An ESPN report said he was informed that his three-year, $50 million contract was voided and his salary would be paid week-to-week.
It’s been a bumpy ride since Brown arrived in a hot air balloon on Aug. 26 and was immediately put on the Non Football Injury list (NFI) for burns on his feet resulting from a cryotherapy session in France. Brown missed nearly all of the Napa session of training camp because of the injury, as well as a grievance with the NFL over the preferred helmet.
It ballooned into an internal conflict within the organization this week as he posted a fine notice from general manager Mike Mayock on his Instagram account, then got into a shouting match with Mayock at Raiders practice Wednesday.
Thursday morning, the Raiders were reportedly planning to suspend him, and by Friday they’d reversed course as head coach Jon Gruden said Brown was expected to play Monday night. Brown had reportedly apologized to his teammates.
On Friday night, Brown posted a video that included a recorded phone call with Gruden. According to a source, Gruden had no knowledge of the phone call being recorded. It’s unclear when the phone call was recorded.
The club fined Brown $215,073.53 for conduct detrimental to the team, ESPN reported Saturday, a move that voided $29,125 million worth of guarantee money in his contract. The fined stemmed from Brown’s confrontation earlier in the week with Mayock.
Gruden has continually backed Brown in public settings, and in the HBO series “Hard Knocks” as well as the Brown video, has lent a sympathetic ear. Matters of discipline, including an “all in or all out” ultimatum issued Aug. 18 in Napa, have been addressed by Mayock.
A letter from Mayock to Brown (which the receiver posted on Instagram) notifying him of nearly $54,000 in fines sparked the on-field shouting match Wednesday at practice.
Gruden is scheduled to meet the media Saturday before the Raiders’ last practice in preparation to face the Broncos on Monday night at Oakland Coliseum.
Raiders quarterback Derek Carr, who made a brief statement in support of Brown on Friday, was at work the following morning preparing to move on without the man who was acquired to be the focal point of the offense, according to Carr’s brother David.
“They have no choice but to move on and get ready to play the Broncos as if he’s not on the team,” David Carr said on “Good Morning Football” on the NFL Network.
David Carr, who is an analyst for the NFL Network, said Brown is a “different cat” with whom it’s hard to have a “one-on-one conversation” and that his brother was unable to reach Brown initially following the Mayock confrontation Wednesday.
“Derek told me, ‘I’ve spent more time with this guy in the off-season than any player I’ve ever played with, with A.B. on the field, working, with him over at my house,’” David Carr said. “And then to just go dark on the one guy that has your back, probably as much as Jon Gruden, it’s kind of difficult.”
Amplifying on Gruden’s backing of Brown, David Carr said, “Jon Gruden, almost to a fault, has had this guy’s back the entire time and then you find yourself being wire-tapped on an Instagram post. What else do you need?”
Brown’s agent, Drew Rosenhaus, said on the NFL Network his client would be shopping for a new team.
“We’re going to have to see what the market is. When you’re a free agent, it’s not always what you expect,” Rosenhaus said.” It’s what the market is. Of course, my job as an agent is to always get the best contracts for my clients. That’s no different here.”
More to come on this story …