After a problematic offseason since being traded to the Oakland Raiders, Antonio Brown was officially released by the Oakland Raiders early Saturday afternoon.
Antonio Brown was traded from the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Oakland Raiders a month after the season ended following numerous problems off the field including being benched for the final game of the season after missing practices during that week. Brown’s relationship with the Steelers organization including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and fellow receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster were highly publicized toward the end of his tenure with the team.
Antonio Brown’s short tenure with the Oakland Raiders was marred with controversy seeing him get into disputes about wanting to wear a helmet that was no longer regulated by the NFL, getting frostbite after wearing the wrong footwear during a cryotherapy session, being fined for conduct detrimental to the team and getting into a verbal altercation with Raiders general manager Mike Mayock. Antonio Brown requested his release from the Raiders after they voided the guaranteed money on his contract.
Hours after his release from the Raiders, Brown agreed on a one-year contract with the New England Patriots. The deal is worth $15 million with a $9 million signing bonus. This signing was predicted by many people on social media with many taking to social media calling on the Pats to sign Brown before the signing even happened.
This is not the first time the Patriots have acquired a problematic but talented receiver from the Oakland Raiders. In the 2007 offseason, the New England Patriots traded star receiver Randy Moss away from the Oakland Raiders after a troublesome two seasons with the team. This would lead to the Patriots going 16-0 in their first season with Moss boasting possibly the best offense in NFL history. The season did not end the way the wanted as they would end up losing the Super Bowl to the New York Giants in what was, and still is, not only one of the biggest upsets in Super Bowl history but one of the biggest upsets in NFL history.
Although this move was expected by many, this is a huge move for the Patriots in their bid to win back to back Super Bowls and to appear in their fourth Super Bowl in a row. The Patriots were going to be huge favorites to make it back to the Super Bowl and possibly win with or without Brown so now that they have him they could easily have the AFC locked up.
Antonio Brown will not be eligible to play in the Patriots season opener against his former team the Pittsburgh Steelers.
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