Antonio Brown's tenure with the Raiders will certainly be a memorable one, even if the receiver never hit the field for the organization. In what was a shocking, but ultimately necessary move, Oakland released the All Pro receiver on Saturday after he had taken to social media demanding the divorce.
This was just the latest in what was a number of issues surrounding the relationship between Brown and the Raiders, which ultimately proved to be the breaking point.
"We just have exhausted everything," head coach Jon Gruden told reporters of Brown's release Saturday. "We tried every way possible to make it work. And all I'm gonna say is it's disappointing. I'm really proud of our players, our coaches, our owner, our front office. We did everything we could to make this work and I'm sorry it didn't. I apologize, but I'll tell you, I'm very proud of what we did as an organization to try.
"I wish Antonio the best. I'm sorry we never got a chance to see him in silver and black. Very disappointing in my career as a coach. I looked forward to coaching him but it's not going to happen. I'm not going to sit here and talk about it all day. We've got 12 rookies, we've got a lot to be excited about I wish Antonio the very best."
Ryan Wilson, John Breech and Sean Wagner-McGough broke down the latest development in the ongoing Brown saga in an emergency Saturday edition of the Pick Six Podcast. Listen below and be sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts:
Gruden was civil in his remarks about Brown, saying that he respects his immense talent and continued to support his character. In the end, the pieces just never fit together.
"It's been an emotional thing for me," he continued. "I was very hopeful about what he could bring here and unfortunately it's not going to happen. He's a good guy. He's misunderstood by a lot of people but he's a good guy, he's a great player, and I hope he gets what he's looking for."
He added: "I just don't think it worked. It didn't fit here."
Now, Brown finds himself a free agent in search of a new team that will bring him aboard, while the Raiders will continue to prepare for their opener against the Broncos on Monday night.