As it relates to Antonio Brown’s feet, the news cycle over the last 24 hours has been one of the most informative yet.
Brown, his agent, and Jon Gruden have all spoken on the foot debacle and the puzzle seems to finally be coming together.
So let’s review.
Brown showed up in Napa on Tuesday but still hasn’t practiced in 15 days.
Brown returned to Napa yesterday, but he still hasn’t practiced since July 30. It has now been 15 days since AB has taken reps with the offense.
Reps are important this time of year and that’s clearly a big concern within the organization after watching Hard Knocks on Tuesday night.
Brown left the team to seek alternative treatment on his feet.
According to his agent, Brown’s absence from the team was about his feet and not about his helmet. An NFL.com report last week suggested that players and coaches were concerned the helmet issue may have played a role in Brown’s decision to leave the team.
Drew Rosenhaus (Brown’s agent) denied rumors that Brown had threatened to retire if he didn’t get to wear his old helmet. Rosenhaus also said there could be legal action taken regarding Brown’s frostbitten feet.
No one has reported on where Brown went when he departed Napa, but according to his agent, AB was receiving laser treatments on his feet while he was away.
The Raiders didn’t know when Brown would return to Napa
Watching Jon Gruden on Tuesday’s episode of Hard Knocks, it seemed to be clear that the Raiders didn’t know when Brown was coming back. Or maybe more accurately… if someone in the building knew when AB was coming back, they weren’t sharing the information with Gruden.
If you’re making an educated guess based on the information over the past two weeks, there’s a good chance the communication between AB and the Raiders wasn’t great. Not radio silence, but probably not a case of full disclosure, either.
AB still isn’t practicing with team, but workouts continue
There were a number of videos showing Antonio Brown and his entourage walk into training camp on Tuesday. He definitely appeared to be walking in a little discomfort. Nevertheless, he was on the field working out by himself later in the evening.
Brown’s feet don’t look good, but they look better than they did.
Was this footage of Antonio Brown’s foot taken after he returned to Napa? If so, the peeling skin definitely looks less gruesome than Brown’s earlier offering on social media – where it appeared that someone had been scissoring the dead skin off in chunks.
Both sides get a mulligan on this one.
Chalk up the last two week to growing pains between AB and the Raiders. There’s no question things were a little strained between player and team in recent days, but this is what you sign up for with AB. He likes things done a certain way, but the hassle will all be worth it if he can produce like he did in Pittsburgh.
Lesson learned.
Never accept cryotherapy treatments in France.
twitter: @raidersbeat
