ALAMEDA -- Antonio Brown’s agent is doing damage control yet again this summer, trying to put the Raiders receiver’s actions back in a flattering light.
Drew Rosenhaus has been on an involuntary media tour since training camp, first explaining why Brown stayed away to rehab his feet in Florida while the Raiders trained in Napa. Then he tried to explain away Brown leaving the team as training camp ended over frustrations with his helmet.
Now Rosnehaus is putting out fires after Brown was asked to stay away from the Raiders facility following an intense altercation with general manager Mike Mayock during Wednesday’s practice.
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SIGN UP HERE Brown isn’t expected to play Monday night against Denver, but the Raiders haven’t formally suspended him. NFL Network reports that Brown might remain on the roster but just be inactive. That move would lock in Brown’s $14.6 million base salary for 2019. If he were suspended, the Raiders could come after his $30 million guaranteed in his recent three-year extension with the team.
Rosenhaus said he has been in contact with the Raiders, including Mayock, and is working with them to avoid a suspension.
“I believe he wants to be an Oakland Raider,” Rosenhaus said in a Thursday interview with NFL Network. “I believe he wants to play. I believe he’s going to have a great season. I believe some things that have happened were outside of his control. The foot injury was not his doing. The helmet, we tried to address that professionally. We got it worked out. I think moving forward everything can work out.
“We’ve had some bumps in the road, but he’s had an incredible career. We had some setbacks recently, but I’m confident we can get back to doing the great things that the Raiders signed him to do. That’s my intention. That’s my job.”
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Rosenhaus said there was no formal timeline for a decision by the team. Brown was told to stay away from the facility, but he remains in Oakland after Wednesday’s incident.
Rosenhaus was asked about Brown’s mental state after all this preseason drama, and the agent, as you’d expect, said Brown is fine and that “there’s no issue in that capacity.”
He has also talked with the Raiders and Brown about curtailing his social media activity, which incensed Mayock Wednesday morning. Brown posted a letter on his Instagram Stories account showing a letter of the Raiders fining him roughly $54,000 for two unexcused absences.
“That’s something that we’ve discussed with Antonio and the team,” Rosenhaus said, “and we’re trying to all get on the same page moving forward.”
[RELATED: Raiders are prepared for life without AB]
Rosenhaus is trying to mend fences after the messy situation, one that got tense on the practice field on Wednesday.
“My objective is to get things worked out between Antonio and the Raiders so he can fulfill his contract and do what they brought him in to do,” Rosenhaus said. “I don’t think it’s too late to salvage that relationship. That’s what we’re working on.”