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AB today

Aug 20th, 2019
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  1. He didn’t show it Tuesday, but the happiest man to see Antonio Brown back — wearing a helmet — on the practice field was Raiders coach Jon Gruden.
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  3. Gruden doesn’t get to play good cop very often, but he has with Brown. The receiver missed 10 straight days of camp, and then left a second time, with feet and helmet issues.
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  5. But he was back Tuesday, with a new helmet.
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  7. “It’s a certified helmet, Vic. He’s all-in, ready to go,” Gruden said. “That’s my understanding. We’re really happy to have him out there. He’s a great player.”
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  9. Brown has filed a second grievance with the NFL — to be heard this Friday — over not being able to wear the helmet he has played his whole career with, the Schutt AiR Advantage. It’s no longer certified, like all helmets 10 years old, and a more recent model failed a test on Saturday.
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  11. That prompted Brown to leave training camp in Napa on Sunday and general manager Mike Mayock responded by making a statement saying it was time for Brown to be “all in or all out.”
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  13. Brown attended a team meeting on Monday, and then on Tuesday reporters were only allowed to watch the first 10 minutes of practice at the team facility in Alameda. We watched Brown stretch without a helmet. Actually, more detail is required. Brown ran some routes during a walk-through portion while reporters peaked through fences, and then when we were allowed on the field and the other players put helmets on to stretch, Brown left to grab his cleats sitting just on the edge of the field and went to the weight room.
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  15. He returned about five minutes later to stretch having changed into his cleats but without a helmet. And then the media window closed. At that point, the “Hard Knocks” crew was able to shoot Brown putting his new helmet on, laughing it up with Gruden and showing that he can cut again now that his frostbitten feet have healed.
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  17. Gruden was asked where Brown is as far as running and cutting.
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  19. “Good. He’s really good,” Gruden said. “He’s shown great retention of what we are doing. He didn’t miss the offseason program. He’s been here and out of here in meetings and it’s just good to have him back. But he’s in great shape, he’s running hard and running good routes.”
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  21. The new helmet was a Schutt Vengeance Z10 LTD, according to league sources. It is on the league’s approved list, so maybe Brown has picked his backup choice and the Raiders are in the clear even if he loses the grievance on Friday.
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  23. Either way, Gruden said Brown’s absence and seemingly weekly soap opera has not been a distraction for his team.
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  25. “I wouldn’t read into ‘Hard Knocks’ being a distraction or Antonio Brown being a distraction,” Gruden said. “There have been no distractions. We have had 89 guys working hard. Our film is out there for you to watch. If you see a distracted football team, I disagree with you. I’m not going to make any more of it than that.
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  27. “There are a lot of teams missing star players. My brother (Jay Gruden with the Redskins) is missing one. The Cowboys are missing one. The Texans are missing one. That happens in this league. Every year, there are exceptions you have to deal with. I like our team. I like the way we’re competing. I like the way we’re working.”
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  29. The players did take Brown’s absence in stride, but Gruden really, really missed him.
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  31. Apparently, on last week’s “Hard Knocks” episode, the production crew cut out a lot of Gruden cussing, and he still sounded like a sailor. A very funny one. And NFL Films left in a lot of the coach missing his star receiver.
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  33. He told a Rams coach during their joint practice that “I wish we’d see our receiver at some point.” The coach said that Brown will be back. “I hope so,” Gruden said.
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  35. Later, Gruden tells another coach that being without Brown “is like playing the Masters with one golf ball.”
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  37. Cut to a coaches’ meeting and Gruden made like 1960s crooner Dion and said, “Has anybody seen my old friend Antonio Brown?”
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  39. Gruden was singing a happier tune Tuesday, though he didn’t show it. He didn’t bite on a question whether he was relieved now that the Brown issues are apparently behind the team.
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  41. “It’s not been a distraction to me at all,” he said. “I mean I hate to break it to anybody, but we’ve known what the status is regarding his feet. He just showed up with frostbite. I’ve never had a guy show up with frostbite and fortunately we got that thing under control.
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  43. “And this grievance thing is no laughing matter. It’s something that’s important to him and there is nothing wrong with supporting your players on things they believe in. We also understand the league’s position, but I’m confident that he’s going to be a heck of player for us and be ready to roll.”
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  45. Gruden can go back to yelling and then complimenting backup quarterbacks Mike Glennon and Nathan Peterman. “Chucky” not only got to play good cop, but he’s definitely mellowed in his not-so-younger years. He turned 56 on Saturday.
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  47. “The thing about him is what people don’t get to see enough of maybe, is he treats us like we are his kids, like he loves us dearly,” quarterback Derek Carr said Saturday. “When he is getting on us is just because he wants us to be perfect and that’s just how he is. So, it’s fun to watch the show and I tell those guys, ‘Hey, man. He’s aggressive, he’s going to be like that and it’s all because he wants you to be the best.’ It has nothing to do with him coming at you or him thinking some type of way about you. It’s only because he wants you to be the best version of yourself.”
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  49. Gruden got his birthday present three days late, but Brown’s helmeted return gives his team a chance to be the best version of itself.
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