As the clock struck noon on Saturday, ESPN's Adam Schefter sent out a tweet that announced the Oakland Raiders had finally gotten fed up with the antics from All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown and had released him.
Raiders released Antonio Brown.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 7, 2019
Despite being at the center of what came off as a bunch of nonsensical chaos in Oakland, Brown was only on the open market for a single afternoon and agreed to a one-year deal with the New England Patriots, just one hour after he was eligible to sign with another team.
Antonio Brown has agreed to terms with the Patriots, per Drew Rosenhaus.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 7, 2019Brown's deal with New England will earn him up to $15 million this season. He'll get $10 million in guaranteed money, which includes a $9 million signing bonus, along with an extra $5 million in incentives.
The Raiders opted to release Brown after a summer that was full of antics without any on-field production from the seven-time Pro Bowler. Brown all but forced his way out of Pittsburgh last season after skipping out on practice in Week 17 following a spat with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and then demanding a trade in the offseason.
With Oakland, Brown showed up to Raiders training camp in a hot air balloon, had his feet get frostbitten from a cryo-therapy chamber after wearing improper footwear and filed a grievance over needing a new helmet that lasted throughout training camp and the preseason. As recent as this past week, Brown posted his feelings about team fines on Instagram, got into a public spat with Raiders general manager Mike Mayock during practice about that post and posted a video with recordings of a call with head coach Jon Gruden.
On Saturday morning, Brown asked for his release in an Instagram post after a fine for conduct detrimental to the team on September 4. The fine was over $215,000 and also voided Brown's $30 million in guaranteed money.
#Raiders WR Antonio Brown to the team, via Instagram: "Release me." https://t.co/tSjsnrBUO3 pic.twitter.com/37GPQchVyc
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 7, 2019The Raiders granted Brown his wish in quick fashion.
Now Brown is a member of the defending Super Bowl champions and will join a receiving corps that includes Josh Gordon, Julian Edelman and 2019 first-round pick N'Keal Harry. Brown won't be able to officially join the Patriots' roster until Monday morning, so he won't be active on Sunday night against his former team in the Steelers.
The Patriots don't see the Raiders at all in the regular season, so Brown won't be able to play against either of his former squads. However, it's safe to say the eccentric wideout is excited to start catching passes from Tom Brady.
LFG #GodsPlan pic.twitter.com/MflFD1MqoT
— AB (@AB84) September 7, 2019
