The Why's of the Antonio Brown Trade

Antonio Brown has been traded. This was going to happen, and even when it seemed like it happened, the whole Buffalo thing, it only took 2 more days for it to actually happen. Brown was traded to the Oakland Raiders for a couple of later round draft picks. And as of a report today, he is going to get a decent raise. All of this leaves me with a good amount of questions.

I think Brown is great. I need to state that up front. He has good hands, gets yards, scores TD and is a matchup nightmare from time to time. But, he is 31 years old. He is now on a team that is being quarterbacked by Derek Carr. He is on a team that really has no other offensive threats. He is on a team coached by Jon Gruden. He is on a team that is about to move to Las Vegas. And he has had one of the weirdest and self inflating off seasons that I can remember. I haven't seen anything like this since Terrell Owens did a workout in his front yard for reporters when he wanted out of Philadelphia. How did that work out for him? Owens was once great, but that was the downfall. That signaled the end of his NFL career.

I simply cannot help but see almost the exact same thing happening for Brown, but on a much worse team. The Raiders were just downright awful last year. The best player they had was Marshawn Lynch, and they didn't feed him the ball enough, and then he got hurt. Also, their coach thought it would be a brilliant move to trade Khalil Mack before the season, then Amari Cooper during the season. Then, this offseason, they hired Mike Mayock, a TV analyst, as their new GM. They also have had a very hard time finding a place to play this upcoming season.

Also, I cannot overstate the fact that Derek Carr is their god damn QB. Look, I loathe Ben Roesthilberger as much as anyone can. He is a scumbag, a diva, a sexual predator, overrated, slow and super old. I want him to go away. But, he is better than Carr. Hell, Josh Allen, the Bills QB, has more potential than Carr. In fact, the other teams named, the 49ers and Packers, to the best of my knowledge, have way, way better QB's than Carr. Yet, after the trade, Brown seemed thrilled to be playing with Carr. He said, and I quote, "it is like love at first sight". What the hell is he talking about.

Now add on the fact that Jon Gruden is the coach. He still thinks it is the early 2000's, and you win with defense and ball control. Also, he's insane. How is Brown going to fit in with that team. And he doesn't really have much help on offense as well. I hope Lynch will be back, I adore him, but he is old too, and got hurt too much last year. Jordy Nelson is trash. Jared Cook is going to sign elsewhere. The O line is not great. And again, Derek freaking Carr is the QB. Sure, I have heard that they covet Kyler Murray, but is he really the answer. He is better than Carr, but he will be a rookie that would get thrown straight into the fire, and even the best QB's in NFL history struggled mightily in their rookie years. Murray is going to struggle too. Just like Sam Darnold and Josh Rosen and pretty much every other rookie QB in the history of the league.

Which brings me to my final point. Brown is 31 years old. While that is not old in real life, that is ancient in the NFL. The NFL is a cold and brutal business, and when you get too "old", they kick you to the curb without thinking twice. I fear, for Brown, this move to the Raiders is going to be his swam song into oblivion. Sure, it will be talked about a ton this offseason, and even when the season starts. But, when the Raiders start to play poorly, which should be week one by my calculations, Brown and Carr and whatever rookies they take and Gruden and Mayock will all be forgotten.

While this move is flashy now, I just see it being all for naught. Brown got what he wanted, but I just don't think it will be worth it in the long run. Oh well, lets see how this all plays out, but I have to say, I think it will be forgotten by week 10, at the very latest.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He wants to remind everyone once again that the Raiders are quarterbacked by Derek FREAKING Carr. Do you all understand now?

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