NFL

[RonnieFranchise]

I’m fully rooting for an implosion.

[Dickie Dunn]

This is more enjoyable than Lev Bell being robbed by hookers.

[tifosi77]

Even though I'm of an age that I recall the Raiders as a rival and powerhouse in the AFC, they've been Clownshoes Inc. for so long that it feels like piling on to root for this to go full Dumpster fire. That said, I kinda want this to go full Dumpster fire.

[dodint]

My hatred is for Gruden, so yeah, we're sending this flaming dumpster down the river.

[NTP66]

My hatred is for Gruden, so yeah, we're sending this flaming dumpster down the river.

Gruden is just the rotten cherry on top of this steaming pile of **** for me.

[Beveridge]

I once asked the question who would go broke first: Brown or Bell.

It's Brown by a landslide.

[NTP66]

I hope this never ends.

[blackjack68]

Delicious!

[NTP66]

My time was well spent on this.

[LITT]

so what is so great about his old helmet?

[DigitalGypsy66]

He claims his vision (peripheral) is blocked by the new helmets, probably because they are thicker to offer more protection to the head.

So he will end up playing with a new helmet, and has a built in excuse when his stats aren't great. Nevermind he missed most of training camp and much of the preseason.

[willeyeam]

imo there is some bigger issue (beef with gruden or just general done-with-football-ness) and this is his excuse not to play

[willeyeam]

I will add this hot take:

if it was a baseball player or hockey player lamenting a change of equipment it would be chalked up to quirkiness and superstitions

[NTP66]

imo there is some bigger issue (beef with gruden or just general done-with-football-ness) and this is his excuse not to play

I think this is all a stunt to hide the fact that his feet are way more **** up than he is telling everyone.

[tifosi77]

You mean like how when they required all players to wear visors, and there was no mass "I WANT MY OLD HELMET" bed shitting?

Part of me would not be surprised if he did not take a single snap this year, while part of me wouldn't be surprised if had 1500 yards and 120 receptions. No part of me is surprised that the Raiders are facing those two paths as legitimate and realistic possibilities in August.

That said, I do agree that this is a pretextual thing; he got his guaranteed payday and he's checked out.

[iamjs]

I once asked the question who would go broke first: Brown or Bell.

It's Brown by a landslide.

If ESPN were to do a 30 for 30: Broke Part II the year after AB retires, I guarantee he would be featured more than any other athlete on the program.

You mean like how when they required all players to wear visors, and there was no mass "I WANT MY OLD HELMET" bed shitting?

Part of me would not be surprised if he did not take a single snap this year, while part of me wouldn't be surprised if had 1500 yards and 120 receptions. No part of me is surprised that the Raiders are facing those two paths as legitimate and realistic possibilities in August.

That said, I do agree that this is a pretextual thing; he got his guaranteed payday and he's checked out.

but didn't their GM kinda mumble about his contract becoming non-guaranteed if he doesn't play a down sometime soon?

imo there is some bigger issue (beef with gruden or just general done-with-football-ness) and this is his excuse not to play

Friend of mine has a theory that he realizes that there is some post-concussion damage upstairs and he's doing everything possible to delay going on the field (cryotherapy gone wrong incident not included)

[dodint]

If the last bit is true, he could have just retired. There is no angle here that makes AB the victim.

[Dickie Dunn]

[dodint]

I've heard a lot of people come to the realization that the Pittsburgh staff wasn't the issue. That's heartwarming.

[tifosi77]

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think if he just up and retired, the contract would be nullified and the Raiders would be free of their financial obligations. He needs a reason why he can't play, not why he doesn't want to. (At least in his mind......or 'mind')

[Dickie Dunn]

Correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think if he just up and retired, the contract would be nullified and the Raiders would be free of their financial obligations. He needs a reason why he can't play, not why he doesn't want to. (At least in his mind......or 'mind')

But what can they actually do about it? They could cut Brown, but they’d still have to pay him, even after he likely ended up with another team. They have a single option if they want to recoup the $30 million in guaranteed money they gave Brown in a contract extension upon trading for him in March: They could send Brown the dreaded “five-day letter,” formally demanding he report to camp within five days, and if he does not show up, they would be allow to place him on the reserve/left squad list, used for players who leave the team during camp without permission. That would make him ineligible to play for the entire season, but it’d also mean the Raiders wouldn’t have to pay his guarantees. It’s the nuclear option, but both Brown and Oakland are quickly burning through all the others.

[tifosi77]

Also, remember last year when Shannon Sharpe was blaming Ben for AB's dickishness?

[NTP66]

It was only a matter of time before Le’Veon Bell was asked about Antonio Brown.

The former Steelers running back gave his take on his ex-teammate’s behavior surrounding his helmet grievance with the NFL in an interview Wednesday with Newsday’s Bob Glauber.

“Him fighting for it, him not showing up for practice, I don’t really agree with that,” Bell said.

[willeyeam]

Well one signed a contract and one didn't

[Dickie Dunn]

New England Patriots safety Patrick Chung might have to make a trip to New Hampshire next Wednesday, as he’s slated to be arraigned on a charge of cocaine possession stemming from June 25.

Per the Laconia Daily Sun, Chung, who has a house in Meredith, N.H., was indicted on the charge on August 8. Although cocaine possession is a felony, Meredith police told the paper Chung wasn’t arrested and so didn’t have a mugshot. The NFL player doesn’t necessarily have to show up for next week’s arraignment in Belknap Superior Court; he can request that his attorney is present on his behalf.