HEADLINES

Raiders Planning For No Antonio Brown For Week 1

September 5th, 2019 at 6:21pm CST by Ben Levine

It’s uncertain if or how long Antonio Brown will be suspended by the Raiders, but it sounds like he at least won’t be in uniform on Monday night. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports (via Twitter) that the Raiders are “not planning to have” their star receiver for Week 1. While it’s uncertain whether Brown will be suspended or merely listed as inactive, he likely won’t be in attendance for the team’s home opener vs. the Broncos.

Rapoport also passed along a quote from colleague Stacey Dales, who said the team is hoping to works things out. During an appearance on NFL Network, agent Drew Rosenhaus echoed that sentiment, stating that the “goal is to salvage this relationship.”

“There is two sides to every story,” Rosenhaus said (via Rapoport on Twitter). “My job is to bring everything back, try and get things worked out. That’s what I’m working on right now.

“I’m confident we can get back to doing all the right things that the Raiders signed him for. My hope is there isn’t a suspension and I’m not aware of any as of yet. I’m working with them to try to and avoid this scenario.”

We learned earlier today that the Raiders are reportedly planning to suspend the wideout after he got into a heated confrontation with general manager Mike Mayock. If Brown is suspended, the Raiders might be able to recoup part, if not all, of Brown’s $30MM signing bonus.

Rapoport provided some more context on the Raiders’ options, noting that Brown’s contract is relatively standard (Twitter link). Therefore, he has a failure-to-practice clause that the organization could use to recoup the guaranteed money. That move could ultimately lead to Brown’s release.

View Comments (19)