The Las Vegas Raiders have been a perpetual disappointment ever since they reached the Super Bowl and lost there to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the 2002 season. In 2019, coming off a 4-12 finish the previous season, they and their fans felt they had perhaps gotten their missing piece when they traded for star wide receiver Antonio Brown.

Back then, Brown was one of the NFL’s truly elite wideouts. He had just led the league in receiving touchdowns the previous season while being named to the Pro Bowl for the sixth straight year as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

But after a couple of incidents, he was released by the Raiders in early September, and he was immediately picked up by the New England Patriots.

Offensive guard Richie Incognito, who was a member of the Raiders for that 2019 season, said on “The Rush Podcast” to star defensive end Maxx Crosby that he felt Brown could’ve made the team a force that year.

What could have been for Antonio Brown in the Silver and Black

At the time, Brown was on his way to becoming a Hall of Famer and possibly one of the best wide receivers of all time. He led the NFL in receiving yards in 2014 and 2017, and he was a leading candidate for the Offensive Player of the Year award a few times.

But his off-the-field antics were becoming too much, and they only got worse over time.

Shortly after joining the Raiders, Brown filed a grievance because he wanted to continue wearing his old helmet. The request was denied, and he threatened to retire from the NFL if he had to wear a different helmet.

The team’s general manager, Mike Mayock, then fined Brown for missing a couple of practices during training camp. The next day, he reportedly got into an argument with Mayock and even used a racial slur toward the executive.

After leaving the Raiders, Brown lasted just one game with the Patriots before being cut by them. He was then picked up by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers midway through the 2020 campaign, reuniting him with legendary quarterback Tom Brady, as well as Bucs head coach Bruce Arians, who had been the Steelers’ offensive coordinator when Brown was with the Steelers.

Brown managed to behave well enough to earn a Super Bowl championship ring that season. But during Week 17 of the following season, he ran shirtless off the field and into the locker room in the third quarter.

That proved to be Antonio Brown’s final moment as an active player in the NFL, and unfortunately, it will likely overshadow his Super Bowl victory as the everlasting image fans will most remember of him.

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