Former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden did not hold any truth back while telling a story regarding Antonio Brown
The Las Vegas Raiders had the chance to have one of the most elite players the league has ever seen in Antonio Brown, and it just didn’t work out.
When Jon Gruden was head coach of the Las Vegas Raiders, he brought on Antonio Brown, one of the best wide receivers of all time. At that moment, it seemed like a genius idea to pair he and Derek Carr together.
It was worth a shot, but there were some wild moments, for sure. The stint lasted only a short time before Brown went on to play for the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, then retired from the NFL. Now we know some of the wilder stories from training camp with the Raiders, as Maxx Crosby did a tell-all on a recent stream. He mentioned times when Brown would come to training camp in a hot air balloon, or how he burned his feet in the cryotherapy chamber. Now we have a story from Gruden.
Jon Gruden tells hilarious story regarding Antonio Brown on the Raiders
“I had to have him,” Gruden told Steelers legend Cam Heyward. “We took a shot, and unfortunately it didn’t work out. The two or three OTAs we had, I went home one night, opened a bottle of Asti Spumante and drank it all. I thought we were going to complete every pass. I mean this guy was running every one of my routes better than I’ve ever seen it run before. It was one of the biggest regrets in my career.”
Brown is still one of the greatest wide receivers to play the game. He finished his NFL career with 12,291 receiving yards, 928 catches, and 83 touchdowns. He’s top-30 all-time in the three major receiving categories. So, he deserves his flowers for sure. And, who knows what would have happened.
The Raiders likely could have been a monster on the offensive side of the ball. They had Josh Jacobs and Darren Waller. The team would have definitely been more fun to watch than they were that year, finishing 7-9.