Oakland Raiders: A timeline of the Antonio Brown experience

Antonio Brown has pushed the Oakland Raiders’ season to their edge, before playing a single snap. What led Brown and the Raiders to this point? Over seven months of outright lunacy. Let’s dig through the timeline.

At this point, it only makes sense that, hours before the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers kicked off the NFL’s 100th season, everyone’s eyes were planted on Oakland Raiders wide receiver  Antonio Brown.

Brown — freezer of feet, hater of helmets, and destroyer of dreams — could be suspended by the Raiders after a heated confrontation with Oakland general manager Mike Mayock, league sources told ESPN’s Adam Schefter earlier yesterday.

In the days leading to the confrontation, it had seemed that Brown and the Raiders had finally hit a stride in an otherwise-rocky start to their relationship. Brown reported to practice. Raider fans (and his fantasy owners) sighed in relief.

Could Brown actually elevate Derek Carr and the Raiders back into contention? Could things finally turn out okay for the silver and black? The answer to both of those questions, of course, is no. Because this is Antonio Brown. Because this is Oakland.

This confrontation was ultimately a culmination — the end result of months of misbehavior on the part of Brown, a player whose off-field lunacy is now clouding his history of on-field excellence.

Though Brown reportedly apologized to the Raiders Friday morning, the timeline that has led us to this potential breaking point starts nearly seven months ago when Brown detonated the bridge between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the cloud that Antonio Brown lives on.