Antonio Brown literally jumped for joy upon hearing the news that the had been released by the Oakland Raiders on Saturday. ESPN’s Adam Schefter posted the following video of Brown, who agreed to sign with the New England Patriots, celebrating his release from the Raiders.
Hours after Brown’s release from Oakland was made official by the team, Schefter reported that Brown will sign a one-year deal with the Patriots that will be worth up to $15 million and will include a $9 million signing bonus. Brown is not eligible to play in New England’s season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers – his former team – on Sunday night as he was not on the Patriots’ roster as of 4 p.m. EST. He will likely make his debut with New England during the Patriots’ Week 2 matchup against the Dolphins in Miami, his hometown.
Adam Aizer and Dave Richard broke down more fantasy implications of the news on a Fantasy Football Today emergency podcast, which you can listen to below:
In one day, Brown joined a team that was coming off of a 4-12 season to a team that has won six Super Bowls since 2001. Brown will also join a New England receiving corps that includes former All-Pro Josh Gordon and reigning Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman.
Brown is the most recent former All-Pro receiver to join the Patriots. Hall of Fame receiver Randy Moss, following a sensational run with the Minnesota Vikings, caught 23 touchdown passes during his first season in New England while helping the Patriots cap off an undefeated regular season. Chad Johnson, an All-Pro receiver with the Cincinnati Bengals, didn’t come close to having that type of success during his lone season with the Patriots, catching just 15 passes and one touchdown during the 2011 season before being released that offseason.
Gordon, a former All-Pro with the Cleveland Browns, led New England in receiving last year before being suspended indefinitely by the NFL for violating the league’s substance-abuse policy following the Patriots’ Week 15 loss to the Steelers. He was reinstated by the NFL last month.
While Brown celebrated his release from Oakland, head coach Jon Gruden expressed sorrow in missing out on the opportunity to coach Brown, the league’s leading receiver since 2013.
“We just have exhausted everything,” head coach Jon Gruden told reporters of Brown’s release Saturday. “We tried every way possible to make it work. And all I’m gonna say is it’s disappointing. I’m really proud of our players, our coaches, our owner, our front office. We did everything we could to make this work and I’m sorry it didn’t. I apologize, but I’ll tell you, I’m very proud of what we did as an organization to try.
“I wish Antonio the best. I’m sorry we never got a chance to see him in silver and black. Very disappointing in my career as a coach. I looked forward to coaching him but it’s not going to happen. I’m not going to sit here and talk about it all day. We’ve got 12 rookies, we’ve got a lot to be excited about I wish Antonio the very best.”