?
Regardless of how things got to where they are regarding the Antonio Brown helmet issue (we’ll go through the timeline on Monday’s and then
I’ll write something up that points out every key development of the past
week)
Lamarcus Joyner Jersey , the Raiders have drawn their line in the sand: Brown, as G.M. Mike Mayock said Monday, needs to be all in or all out.So what happens if
he refuses to be all in?The Raiders could cut Brown, but they’d owe him more
than $30 million over the next two years, offset by whatever else he’d earn with
a different team. As mentioned when the issue first surfaced, at a time when
Brown was still away from the team, the Raiders’ nuclear option consists of
sending a five-day letter to Brown. If he doesn’t come back within five days,
they can place him on the reserve/left squad list and shut him down for the
year. At that point, he wouldn’t be able to play for the Raiders or for anyone
else, and the Raiders wouldn’t have to pay him.And if he shows up and
misbehaves, the Raiders would have the same options under the labor deal that
would be available for any other players who break the rules: Fines and
suspensions, with the ultimate ability (after properly documenting the situation
and giving him all appropriate warnings) to suspend him four games without pay
for conduct detrimental to the team, which would also wipe out his guaranteed
money for 2020.The question is whether they want to deal with that while
otherwise trying to build a team that is competitive in a difficult division
with a challenging schedule. They could
Brandon LaFell Jersey , in theory, try to trade him, but who would want to step into the shoes of that $30 million liability at a time when Brown is, rightly or
wrongly, pissed off at the league and anyone connected to it?If Brown responds
in the desired way to Mayock’s bad-cop quote and if coach Jon Gruden can smooth
things over with a good-cop vibe, maybe they can still turn this thing around.
For now, that’s what they’re surely hoping to do. But if Brown makes it clear
that he’s , the Raiders will have to make a decision that they’d rather not have
to make.For Brown, the obvious right decision is this: Pick a helmet and show up
for work. He’s got more than $30 million riding on it. In the end, it comes down
to whether he cares about that or not. Tow offseason events shake up the depth
chart the most — free agency, and the draft. Last weekend saw the latter come to
pass, so with those new players in house, we take a look at how they
could..."Tow offseason events shake up the depth chart the most — free
agency
Derek Carrier Jersey , and the draft. Last weekend saw the latter come to pass, so with those new players in house, we take a look at how they could affect the
team’s draft chart in the coming months and perhaps into the season.Raiders
projected depth chart with draft picksOffenseFirst teamSecond teamThird
teamBeyondOffenseFirst teamSecond teamThird teamBeyondThere is a lot to work out
with many of these positions.Backup quarterback would figure to favor Mike
Glennon mainly because he was paid the most. But that’s no guarantee he will be
the last man standing come September.First round rookie Josh Jacobs figures to
split carries with Isaiah Crowell, Jalen Richard will see time as the receiver
out of the backfield and Chris Warren III will get another shot to make the
roster as the big bruising short yardage back.Darren Waller and Lee Smith are
the favorites for the top two tight end spots with Luke Willson and rookie
Foster Moreau primarily battling for the backup reps. Derek Carrier is on
notice.We know who the starting tackles and guards are, but it is uncertain as
of now on which side any of them will lineup. We’ll hopefully learn that come
OTA’s.Arden Key figures to move to situational pass rusher and he will try to
hold off rookie Maxx Crosby, who may take a while to develop.Safety has a lot of
options and variables. Joyner will play nickel corner and safety, Karl Joseph
can play either safety spot, some believe rookie first round pick Johnathan
Abram is here to replace Joseph, but they could very easily both start — Abram
as strong safety, and Joseph at free safety. Should the team trade Joseph, it
opens it up for Erik Harris to start, but we’ll cross that bridge if we come to
it.Follow @LeviDamien
