Oakland Raiders: What on earth is going on with Antonio Brown?

The Oakland Raiders may have a problem on their hands with wide receiver Antonio Brown. What exactly is going on with the talented, but troubled wideout?

The Oakland Raiders have received quite a bit of pushback for some of the acquisitions that the franchise has made this offseason. From Vontaze Burfict to Richie Incognito to the ever-controversial Antonio Brown, the Raiders didn’t exactly have a quiet offseason.

And following Incognito’s albeit expected suspension, the critics were out in full force. But now the talk of the NFL world is Antonio Brown after multiple off-field mishaps.

Which bears the question, what on earth is going on with Antonio Brown?

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At the moment, Brown is threatening to retire from playing football over a dispute with his helmet. In a story that many wouldn’t have believed had it not come from the mouth of Adam Schefter, Brown is engaged in an ongoing dispute with the NFL over what helmet he could wear.

Reportedly, Brown has been wearing this specific helmet model for his entire career but the NFL has since outlawed the helmet as it no longer meets their safety guidelines. Sports Illustrated’s Michael Silver reports that 31 NFL players have been required to switch helmets as a result.

But Brown has remained reluctant.

We don’t have to recount all of Brown’s drama regarding his helmet as it resembles childlike behavior that is wholly unprecedented in the world of sports.

This involves secretly sneaking his helmet into practice, painting his old helmet different colors to resemble the newer models, and acting as though none of this ever happened after being confronted about the issues.

For a more in-depth look at these incidents, you should check out Silver’s 20-part Twitter thread which starts with the first tweet below.

This entire helmet issue comes on the heels of another off-field mishap that could force him to miss playing time — that is if he even decides to play again.

Brown reportedly underwent a cryogenic procedure in the offseason which has become increasingly popular among athletes. However, the 31-year-old failed to wear the proper footwear and came away with some pretty nasty frostbite on his feet.

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We’ll save you the image of seeing the blistery remnants of his feet but the pictures are out there if you so desire. Former Olympic runner Justin Gatlin had a similar type of incident which he said in an interview with TMZ took months to recover from.

Brown has been distant, unresponsive, and a bluntly overdramatic with his behavior this offseason. That isn’t the opinion of this writer, those are just the words from others close to the situation.

Who knows if Brown will ever suit up to play a game in a Raiders uniform. Between his frostbitten feet and his erratic behavior, the scenario that he never plays another down in the NFL isn’t nearly as crazy as it may seem.

And even if Brown relents and wears a newer helmet model — because let’s be honest he’s not persuading the NFL on this one — we still have the issue of his feet which could very well keep him out for the entirety of the 2019 season regardless.

The future is murky and the present is even murkier. Nobody really knows what exactly is going on with Brown except for the man himself.

And unfortunately, that may be the case for quite some time.