By now you've heard the news, Raider Nation.
Antonio Brown has been released by the Oakland Raiders.
The last 72 hours – and even the last two months – have been a whirlwind that exhausted pretty much anyone involved.
It's disappointing considering the potential Head Coach Jon Gruden envisioned for Brown and the offense; however, it's time to move on.
Saturday afternoon, Coach Gruden addressed the media following practice, and gave a statement about what's transpired over the last few days and why the team decided to part ways with Brown.
"We just have exhausted everything, we tried every way possible to make it work, and all I'm going to say is it's disappointing," Coach Gruden said when asked to explain the team's decision to release Brown. "I'm really proud, 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 will tell you that I am very proud of what we did as an organization to try. I wish Antonio [Brown] nothing but the best, and I'm sorry that we never got a chance to see him in Silver and Black – very disappointing, in my career as a coach. I really 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, and I wish Antonio the very best."
The situation with Brown didn't manifest as the team wanted it to, but it's time to move forward with the guys on the roster who have been grinding from Day One.
Monday night the Silver and Black will host the division-rival Denver Broncos on Monday Night Football at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, and they should receive a standing ovation from Raider Nation.
