NAPA, Calif. _ Antonio Brown made his first appearance at Raiders training camp in two weeks Tuesday but it is unknown when the receiver _ sidelined with frostbite in his foot _ might be able to practice again with his new team.
"You guys are going to have to stay tuned for that," Brown said.
At approximately 11:05 a.m. PDT, Brown, with cameras from HBO's "Hard Knocks" in tow, walked onto the far side of the practice field and in the direction of the Raiders' weight room. He then made his way toward the field where the Raiders were practicing, and was greeted by several teammates on the sideline.
Since his last time at the Raiders' training camp facility on July 30, Brown has been seeing his foot specialist to get treatment for frostbite.
"It's a process. We don't make excuses," Brown said. "I'm here today just to continue on the up and up. I'm feeling a lot better. It's been a process throughout all of the adversity, but I'm still here standing. So it's an opportunity to do what I desire to do."
Coach Jon Gruden did not know if Brown would be able to play in a preseason game, but was confident Brown would be in uniform Week 1 when the Raiders host the Denver Broncos on Sept. 9.
Brown did not say how his foot became frostbitten. But former linebacker Bill Romanowski, a guest Monday on KNBR 680 with Greg Papa, said Brown, "did cryo over in Europe and I guess they messed up and they didn't tell him to put booties on and it completely mangled his feet and he got really bad frostbite."
Brown said his ability to make cuts and accelerate has improved, adding that, "Anytime you have a lot of blisters, it's hard to change direction and cut and run and be able to do what I do naturally."
Romanowski said, "I don't think he could go out and participate in a full practice. I think he's better running deeper routes right now. I think he's got to basically lay down new calluses on his feet, and I think if you just built it up over time _ over a two-week period of time _ I bet he'd be full go.
"But each day I think he would just have to do a little bit more and a little bit more and make sure he doesn't re-blister and mangle his feet again. I think it's going to be a process."
