Of all the teams listed as possible destinations for Antonio Brown, there’s not a franchise that makes as much sense from all angles as the Oakland Raiders.
The wait is almost over for Antonio Brown.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are apparently ready to turn the corner from the will-they-or-won’t-they trade drama surrounding Brown, not only the team’s top wide receiver but arguably the best at his position in the NFL. On Wednesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network stated a decision was “moving quickly” because the Steelers front office were asking for “best offers ASAP.”
Soon enough, Brown will likely have a new home. It’s not often that a player already being paid among the best at his position can stir the pot enough to force a front office maneuver, but Brown is that talented—and mercurial. Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert has publicly stated his team would not trade Brown if it wouldn’t benefit the team, but fortunately, not every team has shied away from such antics (unlike, say, the Marcus Peters deal last year).
Many teams have been linked to Brown in terms of rumored interest, including a mystery “three new teams” who recently entered the picture, per Rapoport. The New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals have been ruled out (after being in). The Indianapolis Colts have the money and the need. The Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans, and San Francisco 49ers would love to add such a big play target for their young quarterbacks. Shannon Sharpe even brought up the Patriots as the best possible home.
But given the myriad of factors here, some which include making multiple parties happy including the player and his former team, there’s only one real answer in the end: the Oakland Raiders.
THE NEED
The Raiders are in complete reconstruction mode under second-year head coach Jon Gruden with a slew of draft picks to use after trading away their highest quality players like pass rusher Khalil Mack and wideout Amari Cooper. While the plethora of picks is nice, the roster was stripped of all impact playmakers on offense (and defense, really).
Wide receiver is one of the single biggest concerns on the roster as it stands now, and the position was already a need before trading Cooper. As it stands, the best wide receiver is likely 34-year-old Jordy Nelson (depending on how excited you are by last year’s seventh-round rookie Marcell Ateman). Then again it could be the ghost of Martavis Bryant.
The acquisition of Brown would work absolute wonders for this offense and then some. Even with Cooper in hand, the Raiders have never employed this level of talent on the outside since importing Randy Moss in 2005-06 (and even those weren’t close to his best years). Jon Gruden’s dreams of a dynamic offense would finally begin to be realized with a wide receiver who can punish secondaries like Brown.
THE MONEY
Any team interested in bringing in Antonio Brown will need the requisite room to take on his contract. The Steelers are on the hook for over $21 million of dead cap space (no matter whether he’s traded or released), but that does mean the Raiders would owe Brown just over $15 million for 2019 and totals of $11.3M and $12.5M over the next two seasons.
For a top-flight wideout, those numbers are very palatable but it’s also quite possible that Brown is going to want to rework things despite signing his current extension only two years ago. Brown is the best in football. He’s already held one team hostage enough to trade him away, so what’s a bit more drama if it lands him one more major payday?
The Raiders can afford it, even if Brown holds out for a reworked deal before being okay with a trade. Per Over the Cap, the Raiders have over $71 million in cap space and look even better moving forward thanks to Gruden’s gutting of the roster. If Brown wants it, he can get it with no problem in Oakland.
TRADE COMPENSATION
Remember that Gruden and Mike Mayock (the newly installed GM in Oakland) need to not only make Brown happy financially but they also have to make it worth it for the Steelers.
On Pittsburgh’s side of things, the franchise has to swallow a $21M hit in dead cap space this year in order to not have the best wide receiver in football play for them. That’s a head-shaker, to be certain. Instead of enjoying the fruits of the loaded roster they’ve built, largely around an effective yet aging offensive core, the Steelers are now forced to trade away their best overall player—and still have that player take up 9 percent of the salary cap.
On paper, it makes much more sense to give Brown the offseason to see his limited options, work behind the scenes to come to some amicable end, and force him to play. He is, after all, a player under contract. However, these reports of a deal being close make it clear that Brown is out and there’s no turning back. The Steelers are as ready to turn the page as the wideout.
If that’s the case, then a new team is going to have to give them something worth their efforts. That’s likely going to come in the form of draft asset(s), and the Raiders have stocked the shelves with them over the last few months. The Raiders have three first round picks alone and four in the first 35 picks in April’s draft. The Steelers have kept a tight lid on what exactly they might want in return for Brown, but the Raiders are one team with the goods to match any real demands.
THE MOMENTUM
Let’s be clear: everyone apart of Jon Gruden’s fiercest defenders believes the Oakland Raiders are a dumpster fire. The Khalil Mack trade was derided from the beginning. The Martavis Bryant deal completely backfired. Even the slight applause Gruden received for scoring a first round pick for Amari Cooper ended up looking like a big win for Dallas. The roster, as it stands, is a total mess, devoid of impact talent on both sides of the ball.
While a new draft class will fill fans with hope of realized potential, the Raiders have the draft assets to not only bring in a significant draft class but they can add “NFL’s best wide receiver” to the mix. That would be more than enough to inspire Raider Nation for quite some time.
If Gruden is tired of taking his licks and wants to walk away with an offseason “win,” he has the goods to come away with the single biggest acquisition of the offseason. The money is there. The trade compensation is there. The need is most certainly there. It’s an odd situation, but somehow it’s here that the Raiders make the most sense of all.