Antonio Brown All Aboard the Crazy Train.  Either Antonio Brown is completely crazy or he has us all fooled.  There is no denying that he is an immensely talented wide receiver  In college he show a lot of talent.  He did have some problems adjusting to the college life style.  He played three seasons for the Central Michigan Chippewas.  In his three year career he had 305 receptions for 3,199 yards.   He decided to forgo his senior season and enter the 2010 draft.  He was picked in the sixth round by the Steelers.

While with the Steelers he developed into the favorite target for Ben Roethlisberger and one of the top wide receivers in the NFL.  After playing for the Steelers for nine seasons he wore out his welcome and the Steelers traded him to the Raiders for a third and a fifth round draft pick.  For a player as good as Brown that is basically like trading him for a sack of peanuts.  People were thinking that the Raiders got an amazing deal for a top level player.  The Raiders did get a first round pick last year from the Cowboys when they traded away Amari Cooper.  So the trade for Brown was a steal.  Right…

That all depends on your point of view and what the player brings to the table.  The reason that the Steelers were willing to trade Brown for those picks is because they just did not want him on the team anymore.  At the end of last season Brown was basically like a child.  Getting in arguments with other players.  Causing issues and ultimately him getting benched against the Bengals the last game of the season.  This caused Brown to ask for and be granted a trade.  Pretty sure by that point the Steelers were ready to just not have him on the team anymore.  They say that talent over rides everything.  But in reality that is only true to a point.  That point being when your talent no longer out weighs the headaches you bring to the team.  For the Steelers the talent no longer out weighed the issues.

The Raiders are finding out why the Steelers were basically willing to give Brown away.  It is getting to the point where the Raiders no longer feel like they got the best of the Steers in this trade.  Maybe the Steelers were not so crazy with wanting to unload Antonio Brown.

The Crazy train has arrived in all its glory now in Oakland.  There has been plethora of issues that Brown has brought to the table already.  The two biggest ones being.  That he got his feet frost bitten when doing Cryotherapy.  It is unclear if the just did not follow the rules or if he got some bad advice.  What is clear is that he did not do it at the Raiders team facility.  He was in Paris at the time.  If the injury proves to be significant it could void his contract.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

It may not matter since he is threatening to not play anymore if he cannot wear his old helmet.  The Helmet that Antonio Brown wears is not on the approved list by the NFL.  This is something that everyone that was using this helmet knew over a year ago.  Other players that were using the helmet include Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady.  Not exactly slouches.  They are both not happy about the change but have moved on to use new helmets.  Brown says that if he can’t wear his old helmet then he is going to stop playing football.  That seems like a bit of an extreme reaction.  If other players are able to move on then why is Brown having such a problem with it?  Hard to say.  It is possible that he feels that this is the bast and safest helmet for him to wear.  The NFL says differently.  So does the NFLPA.

Is there a chance that the NFL will give in on this?  NO.  There is no way that they can give in on this.  If they give in it will open the door for any player to question the rules when it comes to any piece of equipment.  I just do not see them doing this.

This could all just be misdirection.  With the injury to Browns feet and that he would probably not be playing in the pre season anyway.  He may just feel like he is not getting enough attention.  We all know that Brown is an attention hound.  With the Raiders being on Hard Knocks he may just feel he was not getting enough attention and saw this as a way to get more.  Who knows.  We already know he is a bit crazy.

I am pretty sure that this will get worked out.  Brown will be wearing a new helmet.  I do not see him walking away from the money that he is going to be owed by the Raiders.  The next two years he is guaranteed more the $32 million.  It could be more the $50 million over the next three years.  I really don’t see him walking away from that kind of money over a helmet.  He has shown that he is fully aboard the crazy train so I guess nothing is out of the realm of possibility.