Antonio Brown To Report To Raiders
Antonio Brown is back in the fold. Days after threatening to retire if the NFL did not clear him to wear his favorite helmet, and hours after losing his arbitration case, Brown has informed the team that he will report to the club for training camp on Tuesday (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the Review-Journal). 
Furthermore, Brown’s foot – which was negatively impacted by a cryotherapy session gone awry – is not considered to be a long-term impediment. With that, Brown is set to hit the ground running with ample practice time before his real Raiders debut against the Broncos on Sept. 9.
Brown seemed to be extremely dug in on the helmet issue, but it’s now “very unlikely” that he will appeal the arbitrator’s decision. All now seems to be well in Oakland, especially after Jon Gruden voiced support for the 31-year-old.
Meanwhile, Brown may wind up with his favorite helmet after all. The NFL will let Brown wear the Schutt AiR Advantage, if he can find one that is less than ten years old (Twitter link via PFT’s Mike Florio). AB, apparently, will leave no stone unturned in his search:
"I'm looking for a Schutt Air Advantage Adult Large Helmet that was manufactured in 2010 or after. In exchange I will trade a signed practice worn @Raiders helmet."
— AB (@AB84) August 13, 2019
Arbitrator Rules Against Antonio Brown
The arbitrator in the Antonio Brown case has ruled against the wide receiver, according to Mike Jones of USA Today (on Twitter). This was the expected outcome – Brown’s desired helmet is too old to be re-certified and the league will not allow players to don helmets that are not sanctioned by the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE). 
The NOCSAE standard was jointly approved by the NFL and NFL Players Association, so Brown had little chance of getting his way on the issue. Reportedly, Brown has threatened to retire if the league would not let him wear his preferred headgear. In one sense, the ball is now in Brown’s court.
Brown finished last season with 104 receptions for 1,297 yards and 15 touchdowns for the Steelers. That campaign marked his sixth straight season with at least 1,200 receiving yards and 100 receptions.
Still, his continuous clashing with Steelers officials brought their union to an end. The Raiders were happy to acquire Brown for very little in terms of draft compensation, but it’s now fair to wonder if they’ll ever get to see their new star suit up.
Raiders’ Antonio Brown Threatens To Retire
The Antonio Brown saga has reached new heights. On Friday, Brown informed Raiders officials that he will not play football again, unless he is permitted to wear his old helmet again (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter). 
Brown filed a grievance against the league this week in order to get permission to wear his preferred headgear. The wide receiver, who recently suffered a foot injury while receiving cryotherapy treatment, has been staying away from team practices after being barred from wearing the helmet that he has used throughout his career.
Other players – such as Packers star Aaron Rodgers – have complied with the league’s mandate to wear an updated helmet that has been cleared for safety. However, Brown is bucking the system.
Brown, one of the most talented wide receivers in the game, was an absolute headache for the Steelers in 2018. After clashing with head coach Mike Tomlin and other key figures throughout the year, the Steelers shipped him to the Raiders in March for a pair of mid-round draft picks. In an effort to keep the mercurial star happy, the Raiders also gave Brown a new deal worth $50.125MM over the next three seasons with $30.125MM in guarantees.
Brown finished last season with 104 receptions for 1,297 yards and 15 touchdowns. The campaign marked his sixth straight season with at least 1,200 receiving yards and 100 receptions.
This year, the Raiders were hoping for seven in a row. Now, they’re just hoping he’ll play.
NFL Suspends Cowboys DE Robert Quinn
The NFL has suspended Cowboys defensive end Robert Quinn two games for violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy, tweets Adam Schefter of ESPN.com.
In statement on Twitter, Quinn’s agent explains the Dallas defender believes his seizure prevention medication was contaminated with a substance called probenecid, which the NFL classifies as a masking agent under its drug policy. Quinn failed his test on April 2nd, and embarked on an investigation to find out how the substance was in his system.
His team claims Quinn’s pharmacy filled a prescription for probenecid prior to filling Quinn’s prescription, which may have resulted in the contamination. Additionally, Quinn argues that his levels of probenecid would have been much higher had he actually been using the substance as a masking agent.
Quinn has already lost his appeal of the ban, so he’ll be out for the first two games of the regular season. The NFL has historically taken a hard approach on drug suspensions, and successful appeals are rare. Recently, Giants wideout Golden Tate appealed his upcoming suspension by arguing that was he taking fertility drugs, but the leagues’s policy is considered “unforgiving” and “rigid.”
Quinn, for his part, recently underwent surgery to repair two fractures in his hand, but was expected to be back in time for the season opener, according to David Moore of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). Now, he’ll get two additional weeks for his hand to heal, but Dallas will have to rely on other defensive ends — such as Taco Charlton and Tyrone Crawford — to rush the passer opposite DeMarcus Lawrence.
The Cowboys acquired Quinn from the Dolphins in March in exchange for a 2020 sixth-round pick. Quinn agreed to lower his salary under the terms of the deal, reducing his compensation from $11.1MM to $8MM. While he finished with only 6.5 sacks in 2018, Quinn tied for 20th among defensive ends with 24 quarterback hits. Pro Football Focus, meanwhile, assigned Quinn the 19th-highest pass-rush grade among 103 qualifying DEs.
Chiefs To Sign CB Morris Clairborne
The Chiefs have agreed to sign free agent cornerback Morris Claiborne, according to Terez A. Paylor of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
Claiborne will receive a one-year deal worth $1.5MM, per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). The pact contains playtime incentives, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL.com, and Paylor indicates (via Twitter) those incentives could be worth up $1.5MM. In total, Claiborne’s deal will have a maximum value around $3MM.
Kansas City is bringing in Claiborne with the knowledge that he’ll be unavailable for the first quarter of the regular season. Claiborne was hit with a four-game suspension earlier this month after violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy.
Claiborne, 29, has a concerning injury history, as he played in only 47 of a possible 80 games during the first five years of his career. But he managed to stay healthy during his past two years on the Jets roster, appearing in 30 games and playing nearly 2,000 defensive snaps since 2017. Last season, Claiborne posted two interceptions and ranked as a top-25 corner in Football Outsiders’ success rate.
The Chiefs lost more than 1,900 cornerback snaps during the offseason via the departure of free agents Steven Nelson and Orlando Scandrick. When he returns from suspension, Clairborne should become an immediate starter alongside Kendall Fuller and Bashaud Breeland.
Despite his recent track record, Claiborne drew limited over the offseason, perhaps because teams were aware of his impending suspension. Claiborne met with the Cardinals in April, and worked out for the Vikings near the end of July.
Claiborne averaged $6MM annually on his two consecutive one-year pacts with the Jets, so he’ll be taking a step pay cut to join the Chiefs. PFR ranked Claiborne as the fourth-best available defensive free agent in mid-May, and three players listed above him — Ndamukong Suh, Tre Boston, and Shane Ray — have all since found new homes.
Texans Acquire RB Duke Johnson
The Texans have acquired running back Duke Johnson from the Browns, Cleveland announced today. Houston will send a conditional 2020 fourth-round pick to Cleveland, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. If Johnson is active for 10 games with the Texans, the Browns will receive a 2020 third-rounder, per John McClain of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Johnson, of course, has been on the trade block ever since the Browns signed former Chiefs running back Kareem Hunt earlier this offseason. Hunt won’t be available until the second half of the 2019 season as a result of a suspension, but Johnson nevertheless formally requested a trade in April. At various points, Cleveland has indicated it would keep Johnson on its roster, but after the 25-year-old back fired his agent and hired Drew Rosenhaus, he finally got his wish.
Houston was on the hunt for depth at running back after waiving former third-round pick D’Onta Foreman earlier this week. With Foreman out of the picture, the Texans were planning to use Josh Ferguson and Buddy Howell (who have 30 career carries between them, all Ferguson’s) as Lamar Miller‘s backups.
[RELATED: Full List of 2019 NFL Trades]
Johnson handled 104 rushing attempts during his rookie campaign in Cleveland, but that figure represents a high-water mark. Playing behind Browns starter Nick Chubb in 2018, Johnson managed only 40 attempts, but did post 47 catches and was one of the NFL’s most efficient receiving backs, per Football Outsiders. Since entering the league in 2015, Johnson leads all running backs with 2,170 receiving yards, per Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link), so he figures to see a good deal of work on third downs and other passing situations.
With Johnson out of the picture, the Browns will rely on unproven options Dontrell Hilliard and D’Ernest Johnson to backup Chubb until Hunt’s suspension is completed. But by dealing Johnson, Cleveland has further added to its stockpile of 2020 draft picks. General manager John Dorsey & Co. now boast 10 picks in 2020, including extra fourth-, sixth-, and seventh-rounders, tweets Pelissero.
The Texans will add Johnson on a highly team-friendly contract. The former third-round pick is due a base salary of just $1.8MM for the 2019 campaign, while he can also collect up to $400K in per-game roster bonuses. Houston will essentially hold club options on Johnson in both 2020 ($3.6MM) and 2021 ($4.65MM), and won’t incur any dead money if it cuts Johnson over the next two years. Cleveland, meanwhile, will immediately take on $750K in dead cap charges by dealing Johnson, with another $1.5MM hitting the club’s books in 2020.
Johnson is only the second running back to be traded this offseason. Jordan Howard was dealt from the Bears to the Eagles in March in a swap that saw Chicago receive just a sixth-round pick that can become a fifth-round pick based on Howard’s performance.
Dolphins Sign DT Robert Nkemdiche
The Dolphins announced that they’ve signed free agent defensive tackle Robert Nkemdiche to a one-year deal and placed him on the active/physically unable to perform list. The pact is worth $1.19MM, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.
Nkemdiche, who was selected 29th overall by the Cardinals in 2016, was cut by Arizona in late July. He was quickly linked to the Dolphins, who were reportedly making “preliminary due diligence inquiry calls” on the former first-round pick. Miami left tackle Laremy Tunsil, a teammate of Nkemdiche at Ole Miss, was a “big advocate” for signing the interior defender, tweets Mike Garafolo of NFL.com.
In the midst of a rebuilding phase, the Dolphins can afford to take a chance on Nkemdiche, a player that clearly boasts talent but comes with question marks. Effort issues dogged Nkemdiche during his time in Arizona, and he reportedly showed up to training camp out of shape. Additionally, he’s facing a possible suspension due to a June arrest.
Still recovering from a December torn ACL, Nkemdiche won’t be able to practice with the Dolphins until he’s removed from the active/PUP list. It’s possible that he’ll be placed on the reserve/PUP list once the regular season begins, which would force him to miss the first six weeks of the year. When he is healthy, Nkemdiche will compete with first-round pick Christian Wilkins, Davon Godchaux, Akeem Spence, Vincent Taylor, and others for playing time on Miami’s defensive line.
Nkemdiche, who won’t turn 25 years old until September, appeared in only 27 out of a possible 48 games during his three-year run with the Cardinals, with injuries reducing his chances at playing time. Last season, he played in 10 games (six starts) before tearing his ACL, posting 4.5 sacks on 426 snaps. Among the 130 defensive tackles with at least 20% playtime in 2018, Nkemdiche ranked a lowly 114th in Pro Football Focus’ grades.
Ezekiel Elliott Won’t Play Without Deal?
The situation in Dallas between Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys could drag on for a while. Elliott is unlikely to suit up in 2019 unless he gets a new contract, Josina Anderson of ESPN.com (Twitter links) hears. 
Despite Jerry Jones‘ confidence in everything working out with Elliott (plus star players Amari Cooper and Dak Prescott), things are clearly not trending in the right direction. On Tuesday, it was reported that the Cowboys were growing frustrated with the lack of progress in that trio of talks, and Elliott seems ready to dig in on his holdout.
The Cowboys have reportedly proposed a contract that would be closer to Le’Veon Bell‘s than Todd Gurley‘s, making Elliott the second-highest paid running back in the league. Zeke, it seems, wants to be No. 1. Topping Gurley across all major fronts would mean beating out a four year, $57.5MM contract extension with $45MM in total guarantees and nearly $22MM guaranteed at signing.
Last season, Elliott posted 1,434 yards and six touchdowns on the ground while adding 77 receptions, 567 yards, and three scores in the passing game. Of course, Elliott also ran behind one of the NFL’s better offensive lines, and only ranked 18th in Football Outsiders’ success rate.
Cardinals, Michael Crabtree Call Off Deal
Michael Crabtree won’t be joining the Cardinals after all. Just hours after word of an agreement leaked, negotiations between the two parties went bust, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. With that, the wide receiver remains on the free agent market. 
Crabtree was a logical fit for the Cardinals, who are looking for athletic wide receivers to work with new quarterback Kyler Murray. There was also a Texas Tech tie-in – both Kliff Kingsbury and Crabtree are alums of the Red Raiders and played under head coach Mike Leach. Despite the potential conversations with campus nostalgia and their shared understanding of Leach’s offensive principles, the deal fell apart.
Crabtree, 31, played all 16 games for the Ravens last season and finished out with 54 catches for 607 yards and two scores. It was his weakest stat line ever, but he was healthy and showed that he can still ball.
Right now, it doesn’t sound like the Cardinals will be circling back to Crabtree. The team has no plans to sign him, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears.
Cardinals To Sign Michael Crabtree
The Cardinals will add another veteran to their receiving corps. Michael Crabtree intends to sign with the team, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reports (on Twitter). This comes after Crabtree worked out for the Cardinals on Monday.
Other than Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals have one of the youngest receiving groups in the NFL. They employ second-year man Christian Kirk and three draft choices as key components of Kliff Kingsbury‘s first aerial group. The team guided by the former Texas Tech coach will add a former Texas Tech star. Although Kingsbury and Crabtree’s Lubbock, Texas, tenures did not overlap, the 11th-year receiver is obviously a notable addition. Crabtree did play under Mike Leach at Texas Tech, doing so after Leach had coached Kingsbury a few years prior.
Oddly, next to nothing transpired on the Crabtree front this offseason. The Ravens released Crabtree in late February; this is the first piece of news involving the 31-year-old pass catcher since. And with the Cards having re-signed Fitzgerald and invested three draft choices in wideouts this year, to go along with 2018 second-rounder Kirk, this makes for an interesting landing spot.
Crabtree spent only one season in Baltimore, hauling in 54 passes for 607 yards and three touchdowns. However, the veteran was on pace for a better 2018 showing had Joe Flacco remained as the team’s quarterback. Both Crabtree and John Brown‘s numbers took a hit when Lamar Jackson (and a new run-heavy offense) took over. Crabtree posted five 50-plus-yard games in the Ravens’ Flacco setup and zero under Jackson.
The former 49ers draft choice surpassed 900 yards for the 2015 and ’16 Raiders. Crabtree’s best year came in 2012, when he posted 1,105 yards and nine touchdowns in San Francisco. While Crabtree may be a bit past his prime, he still represents an interesting piece for Kingsbury’s first NFL offense.