Coming off of a drama-filled season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Antonio Brown seems to be continuing this drama with the Oakland Raiders.
There are a variety of reasons that Antonio Brown’s preseason has been stifled. These reasons include injury and a very odd version of a holdout.
First, the injury. Brown’s feet were frostbitten, due to a cryotherapy mishap. Cryotherapy engulfs the body, or a specific part of the body, in cold temperatures. Its benefits include muscle healing and pain relief.
However, cryotherapy can injure the patient if not performed correctly.
That was the case for Antonio Brown
Brown is no stranger to the spotlight, so revealing his grotesque feet to the NFL Films cameras filming HBO’s Hard Knocks.
Peeling back the curtain on @AB84's peeling feet.#HardsKnocks is streaming now on HBO. pic.twitter.com/pViQL7gBuY
— NFL Films (@NFLFilms) August 14, 2019
He later went on to explain how he developed this injury.
“I was literally on vacation in Paris, I was training, and I was trying cold therapy to recover my body and I got out, and I felt my foot burning,” Brown said. “So I was like, ‘Man, I feel a hot sensation.’ The next like 24 hours, it swelled up, it got really big — I couldn’t really walk or put pressure.”
He also explained that doctors in Paris had to cut open his foot multiple times to allow a cloudy white fluid to release from the blisters on the bottom of his feet.
But an injury isn’t the only thing holding him back from joining his new team for training camp. There is also a helmet issue.
Brown’s helmet was deemed unacceptable by the NFL, so he has to switch to a new helmet.
This is an understandable grief considering this is the helmet he’s used since he entered the NFL.
However, other players, like Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, also have to switch their helmets. They are doing so, so why couldn’t Brown?
Michael Silver, a Sports Illustrator writer, wrote this series of Tweets about the situation.
THREAD: 1) Even before suffering bizarre injuries to his feet, Antonio Brown alarmed Raiders coaches and teammates by railing against the NFL’s enhanced enforcement of helmet regulations, a policy change which will likely force the star receiver to switch to a new model…
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) August 9, 2019
7) This meant that Brown and 31 other players who finished the 2018 season on NFL rosters, including star quarterbacks Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers, would have to switch to approved helmets…
— Michael Silver (@MikeSilver) August 9, 2019
Some of the details in this thread include:
Brown repainted his old helmet to resemble the Raiders’ helmet when he was told he must switch helmets.
Brown showed up late to numerous meetings and was unfocused when there because he kept checking his bank accounts.
Many Raiders players had not heard from Brown and, ‘Didn’t know where he was at.’
Brown lost his grievance he filed against the NFL over this issue.
He put a statement out on Instagram in response to losing this grievance.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B1E-vXEhDYp/
There were reports that Brown could possibly retire if he did not win this grievance, though they were proven false by Brown himself.
He made his return to the football field before the Oakland Raiders’ preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals on Thursday night.
Coach Jon Gruden fully supported Brown during his grievance with the NFL and expects to have him fully back by week one of the regular season.
“Obviously, it’s great to have him back. We’ve had a pretty good understanding, in spite of what people think, about what’s going to happen. Now we’re ready to get rolling,” said Gruden.
Brown will reportedly return to training camp on Saturday, however, it is unknown when he will begin practicing with the team.
Jaclyn Galvin is a writer and Radio Personality for Prime Time Sports Talk and a sophomore at Emerson College in Boston, MA. You can connect with her on Twitter and Instagram @jaclyngalvin.
