There have been plenty of disappointments with Jon Gruden’s return to the head coaching ranks in command of the Oakland Raiders. But this offseason has shown plenty of promise, specifically in the addition of wide receiver Antonio Brown. So why is Gruden still “disappointed?”
Brown is on the Non-Football Injury list and the Raiders haven’t released what the issue is. The All-Universe wide receiver did a walk-through with the team and practiced some Sunday, Sunday night, Brown reportedly posted a photo of blistered-covered feet. If that’s all it is, the guy that’s arguably the best wide receiver in football should be fine. But Gruden is broken up that A.B. is missing all this early practice when he should be more worried about getting him healthy for Week 1.
No Antonio Brown at practice the two days I’ve been in Napa. “I think we’re all disappointed,” Jon Gruden said. “We want to get the party started.”
— Lindsay Jones (@bylindsayhjones) August 2, 2019
“I think we’re all disappointed,” Gruden said of Brown’s absence from practice. “We think he’s disappointed. We’d like to get the party started. We’d like to get him out here. He’s a big part of the team. But for the time being we’re going to continue to work hard and we’re seeing the development of some other receivers we’re excited about.”
Here’s the thing. Brown is going to be fine. He’s got his playbook. He’s got film and he’s got Derek Carr and offensive coordinator Greg Olson. Useless early preseason practices shouldn’t even be on Gruden’s radar. And if he’s thinking of suiting A.B. up in a preseason game, he should be fired on the spot.
Gruden is right about one thing, Brown sitting should open up plenty of opportunities for Oakland’s young receiving corps to step up. Fellow starter Tyrell Williams doesn’t need the work, but guys like Hunter Renfrow, Marcell Ateman and Keelan Doss most certainly do. Ateman was a seventh round pick in 2018. Renfrow was snagged in the fifth round of April’s draft and Doss was brought in as an undrafted free agent.
