Antonio Brown returned to the Oakland Raiders' facility Friday, and he did so with an apology.
Brown, according to ESPN's Josina Anderson, issued an "emotional apology" with Oakland's team captains standing beside him. Brown was not in the building Thursday, as the Raiders were reportedly planning to suspend him following his reported altercation Wednesday with GM Mike Mayock.
Anderson also revealed more details on Friday regarding Brown's spat with Mayock. Anderson, citing a source, said that Brown -- angry about Mayock's letter informing him of recent fines in excess of $54,000 for unexcused absences -- confronted Mayock when Brown saw him at the start of Wednesday's practice.
The source said that Brown walked over to Mayock and began hitting him with a barrage of "cuss words" while expressing his anger over being fined. Mayock reportedly did his best to diffuse the situation.
"[Mayock] was like, 'I'm cool, I understand your displeasure,'" the source told Anderson. "[Mayock] sort of just like ... just walked away because he saw it escalate."
The source added that while the confrontation escalated quickly, it never appeared to be getting physical. It ended after several players, including linebacker Vontaze Burfict, attempted to separate Brown from Mayock. That led to the team's plan to suspend Brown, who was not at the Raiders' facility on Thursday.
Will Brinson fired up another emergency edition of the Pick Six Podcast to break down the latest Antonio Brown news. Check it out below and be sure to subscribe to the daily NFL show wherever you get your podcasts:
While the Raiders continue to weigh their options with Brown, Oakland's captains have reportedly told head coach Jon Gruden that they will support whatever he and the team decide to do. Gruden confirmed to reporters Thursday that the Raiders prepared on Thursday to play without Brown, who missed the majority of training camp with frostbitten feet. He missed even more time during the preseason as he continued to fight with the league about his helmet.
Despite his continued controversy, Raiders' captains reportedly told Gruden that they like Brown and would welcome him back on the team. The source told Anderson that, despite Brown's distractions, he continues to show the same work habits that led to him achieving All-Pro status in Pittsburgh.
"Nobody works as hard," the source said of Brown. "Nobody loves the game as much, but [it] seems like there is something that is distracting him from his love that [he] can't control."
Brown's distractions may have cost him not only his job in Oakland but millions of dollars in the process. The Raiders, if they release Brown before Sunday, would not have to pay him over $29 million of the $30.125 million in guaranteed money that is in his contract. That is surely one of the reasons why Drew Rosenhaus, Brown's agent, has been doing damage control over the past 24 hours.
"There isn't an issue as far as I'm concerned, outside of what happened a couple days ago in practice," Rosenhaus said on ESPN Friday morning per Pro Football Talk.com. "Antonio is looking forward to putting all of this stuff behind him. He wants to play football. He wants to play for the Raiders. He wants to have a good relationship with the team. That's why he signed with them. That's why he was traded there ... We want him to have a good relationship with Jon Gruden, Mike Mayock, his teammates."
Brown's status moving forward will ultimately come down to Gruden, who must decide if keeping Brown on the roster is worth the gamble moving forward.
