The Raiders are fed up with Antonio Brown

Frankly, it is impressive to see everything that has happened in the saga of the Antonio Brown helmets: all that has been said and done and all the anxiety that has been spent in the battle of the receiver of the Raiders against the NFL about the rules that prevent him from wearing his favorite helmet – without the whole thing having moved even a piece closer to a resolution. It all started with Brown leaving the camp because he could not wear his helmet.

The Raiders were waiting for Brown to participate fully in the training on Sunday. He had participated in Saturday's training by the team and went with his team for his pre-season game on Thursday, even getting Derek Carr's warm-up passes. There was a helmet involved and the assumption was that Brown had finally found a version of his favorite model under the age of 10, which was therefore not prevented from meeting the safety standards agreed between the NFL and the NFLPA. Jon Gruden supposed it, anyway. Or at least Jon Gruden wanted you to stop asking questions about it. "I do not talk about that anymore," Gruden said Thursday. "It was a certified legal helmet, you know? Someone approved, otherwise he would not have worn it. "

Well. About that.

"You all know that A.B. is not here today. So, here is the bottom line. He is unhappy with the helmet problem. We supported that. We appreciate that. But at this point we have practically exhausted all the relief possibilities. So, from our point of view, it's time for him to participate fully or totally.

"So we hope he will come back soon. We have 89 guys who are breaking their lines. We are really excited about the future of this franchise. And we hope A.B. will be an important part of it from Week 1 against Denver. End of the story. No questions. I just wanted you to know where we were.

So, what has happened? It seems that Brown's public appeal to the helmets has been a success; he spotted several versions made during the last decade, even if only one of the models was NOCSAE certified. But, according to Pro Football Talk, when this nine-year-old helmet was sent for testing, it failed. So Brown was once again without a legal helmet, and he again refused to practice a new model. So much drama, so little progress.

Brown's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, says that the WR is always looking at his helmet options, and Ian Rapoport indicates that the next step is to send to test two helmets of the same model but different years.

Brown frustrated by the leagueand for good reason: the NFL had not banned or even tested its favorite model until its release this summer, which means that every other NFL players with helmets over ten years old, including Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, had a one-year grace period to find the new models they liked. And the Raiders are frustrated by Brown – hence the comments from Mayock. The fact that it was given as a statement and not in response to questions from journalists, and that it was broadcast through the official channels of the team, is a good sign that the Raiders are approaching their breaking point .

But what can they really do about it? They could cut Brown, but they will still have to pay for it, although he may have been with another team. They have one option if they want to get back the $ 30 million of guaranteed money they gave to Brown in a contract extension when they negotiated it in March: they could send Brown the "five-day letter" So much dreaded, formally demanding that he present himself at camp at the latest. five days, and if he does not show up, they will be allowed to place him on the reserve / left list, used for players who leave the team during the camp without permission. This would make him ineligible to play all season, but it would also mean that the Raiders would not have to pay his guarantees. It's the nuclear option, but Brown and Oakland are quick to burn all the others.