Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown has made headlines for all the wrong reasons lately. He’s missed almost all of training camp with a foot issue, which was followed by his refusal — for the time being — to change helmets.
But coach Jon Gruden has his back. Gruden was asked about Brown after the Raiders’ 14-3 win over the Rams on Saturday and showed full support for his prized acquisition.
Gruden looked frustrated with Brown’s foot situation in HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” but he didn’t show any of that exasperation on Saturday. The NFL world has gone wild with the news of Brown threatening to retire over his helmet and Gruden came to Brown’s defense.
It’s already been reported by The Las Vegas Review-Journal’s Michael Gehlken that Brown is expected to resolve his helmet issue soon and return to practice. That explains, in part, Gruden’s backing of his All-Pro WR.
But most relevantly, Gruden needs Brown in order to win ballgames, and since the coach insisted on trading for Brown, there’s extra pressure on the coach to make the deal work. Gruden is known for sending messages to his players through the media. Most of the time they’re negative, but not in this instance.
In this case, the message was solidarity. If the Raiders are to have a winning season, they need Brown to feel at home and that he can be his flamboyant, All-Pro self. Now the ball is in Brown’s court, and it’s in his best interest to be his old self as well.
