Antonio Brown has made it clear that he is not going to wave the white flag in his helmet war against the NFL.
Brown missed practice on Sunday, and Oakland Raiders GM Mike Mayock confirmed that the star receiver was not present because he is still upset over the NFL’s decision to not let him wear the model of helmet he has worn throughout his career. In an appearance on WSVN in South Florida Sunday night, Brown’s agent Drew Rosenhaus said Brown is still trying to find a “solution.”
Antonio Brown's agent — @RosenhausSports — provides an update on where AB stands with the Raiders after GM Mike Mayock's comments today about Brown being "all in or all out." pic.twitter.com/VWOBfzPvwH
— 7 Sports Xtra (@7SportsXtra) August 19, 2019
“I’m not sure that we agree that we’ve exhausted all the options, as Mike Mayock said. There’s no doubt it’s still an ongoing process,” Rosenhaus said. “We’re trying to work with the team and the league and the union to come up with a solution — we haven’t figured it out yet. To say that AB is upset about the decision to not let him wear his helmet is accurate, but we’re still processing it and figuring it out.”
Mayock basically gave Brown an ultimatum, saying it is time for him to decide if he’s going to give up the helmet fight and be “all-in” or not. However, Rosenhaus seems to think a favorable outcome is still possible. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reports that two more helmets that are similar to Brown’s old model are being tested to see if they meet safety standards.
#Raiders WR Antonio Brown may not yet be out of options. My understanding is two more helmets — same Schutt AiR Advantage that he prefers — are being tested for possible use. They were made in different years than his original one tested. A 2014 and a 2010.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 19, 2019
Brown said he never actually considered retirement over the helmet issue, but he’s still scrambling to find a helmet that’s as close to his old one as possible. One newer version already failed in lab testing, so perhaps that is what set Brown off yet again.
