Oakland Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown hasn't played a down for the Silver and Black yet, and after Friday's news, one has to wonder if he ever will.
While the seven-time Pro Bowler has missed practice time due to a cryotherapy chamber mishap which mangled the bottoms of his feet, it's now issues with his equipment that is putting his future in jeopardy.
According to Adam Schefter, Brown has reportedly told team officials that unless he gets to wear his old helmet, he will not play football again. Michael Silver reported that Brown has recently alarmed the Raiders coaches and players by, "railing against the NFL's enhanced enforcement of helmet regulations," a policy change which will force Brown to sport a new style of helmet on the field in 2019. That plus his current absence from camp has created a major distraction for Oakland. Brown even reportedly tried to paint over his old helmet with Raiders colors in order to try to fit in at practice.
Naturally, this newest Antonio Brown saga became the most discussed story of the day, and it set social media ablaze:
Who'd have thought "Antonio Brown has frostbite on his feet" would only be the second weirdest Antonio Brown story this week.
— Benjamin Allbright (@AllbrightNFL) August 9, 2019
The Steelers front office moments after seeing the Schefter tweet about Antonio Brown... pic.twitter.com/bIc2zlnGjI
— Al Smizzle (@AlZeidenfeld) August 9, 2019
Amateur sketch of the helmet Antonio Brown snuck into Raiders practice
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) August 9, 2019
(H/t @JoeBuscaglia for the inspiration) pic.twitter.com/ObwTd27zNl
Trainer: Antonio you can’t wear that helmet.
— Steve Braband (@stevebraband) August 9, 2019
Antonio Brown: pic.twitter.com/DVEu83tjO3
Hard Knocks producers watching Antonio Brown lose his mind pic.twitter.com/BpWAyuOfvn
— Zack (@EmbiidWRLD) August 9, 2019
Guess retirement means he can go back to this helmet if he wants. pic.twitter.com/6Wpq6Ipc8K
— Rich Eisen (@richeisen) August 9, 2019
Antonio Brown in early March: “I don’t even have to play football if I don’t want. I don’t even need the game... Obviously I want the game but I don’t need the game.... "I'm perfectly fine with walking away fully healthy or whatever.”pic.twitter.com/Ex6DRjfyTT
— NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) August 9, 2019
There is one big winner when it comes to this latest report and that's HBO's "Hard Knocks." They chose to cover the Raiders this offseason, and with the season premiere coming just last week, they will have plenty to unpack in the coming episodes. The vibe has abruptly changed from just a couple weeks ago when Brown arrived at Raiders training camp in a hot air balloon. The Pittsburgh Steelers also have to feel pretty good not being at the center of this story.
Another noteworthy tidbit is that Brown said he may quit football and that is not an empty threat. As Brown made clear in early March, he would be perfectly fine walking away from the game if he feels inclined to do so.
Stay tuned for another episode of the wild and wacky life of Antonio Brown.