Antonio Brown left Oakland Raiders training camp and his general manager is visibly and justifiably agitated. Mike Mayock speaks for those in the organization, the team’s fans, and really a whole swatch of level-headed people everywhere. The whole thing is such a sideshow, even by Brown’s high standard for such theatrics.
The wide receiver’s talent is awesome. His propensity to be a squeaky wheel is on par with all who have ever played the position, which tends to inspire such behavior. It’s a constant soap opera and a smart bettor would be place their chips in on the future of it continuing.
But that’s kind of the thing here. The ultimate outcome is so unpredictable that any prediction is just throwing up a prayer. Like, it’s going to be wild. We just don’t know what type of wild.
Brown could pull a disappearing act and become a ghost. Look deep into your soul and see if there’s a part that feels comfortable that he wouldn’t remain hardheaded and in street clothes.
It’s such a gamble. And he’s such a wild-card that to call his bluff is a risky proposition. One doesn’t envy Mayock or Jon Gruden, though it didn’t take 20/20 vision to see the friction he could bring to the Bay Area.
Now do some more soul-searching and find the part that wants to definitively say Brown won’t be in silver-and-black reeling in 120 catches, 1,400 yards, and 14 scores. I’ll wait.
Playing chess with this guy is a fool’s errand. The man is completely off-book, making up wild new maneuvers on the fly — both on the field and off.
The next move could be anything. Buckle up and be glad it’s not your skin in the game. Or, if it is, try to remain sane.
