When news broke earlier on Thursday that the Oakland Raiders were set to suspend wide receiver Antonio Brown, it threw the football world for a loop.
Brown had reportedly gotten into it with Raiders general manager Mike Mayock over a fine he received stemming from missing certain training camp activities.
We’re now getting more details regarding the incident in question, and it’s troublesome.
NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport reports that the altercation between Mayock and Brown did not get physical. Though, it did lead to the receiver throwing a fit over the fine he received. That included a threat to punch Mayock in the face.
Another report from Raiders beat writer Vic Tafur of The Athletic suggests that the spat took place in front of the Raiders’ entire team.
This most certainly does not represent great optics for the Raiders’ organization. Head coach Jon Gruden has a no-nonsense way of going about things. As an old-school mind himself, Mayock is not going to put up with the immature things we’ve seen from Brown in recent weeks. That’s for sure.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, there are some around the NFL who now believe that the Raiders suspending Brown for conduct detrimental to the team could be a harbinger of further things to come. Primarily, that Oakland will look to void the guarantees remaining on his deal.
If that is indeed the case, there’s a good chance that Brown will never suit up in a regular-season game for the Raiders mere months after they signed him to a three-year, $50.13 million deal.
Stay tuned, there’s going to be a lot more come of this over the next several hours and days. For now, Brown’s future in Oakland is truly up in the air.