[KChiefs1]

https://theathletic.com/1128952/2019...ders-patience/

Antonio Brown is apparently a lot pickier about what he puts on his head than what he puts on his feet.

The Raiders receiver wants to wear his old helmet despite new league rules prohibiting the old model, and he had a two-hour grievance phone call with an independent arbitrator on Friday morning. This after missing 11 of the team’s first 12 practices with a reported case of frostbite due to not wearing the right footwear in a cryogenic chamber. In France.

ESPN reported Friday that Brown has told the Raiders that he will not play football again if he is forced to wear the new helmet. A decision from the arbitrator is expected next week, but it is safe to say that the Raiders don’t really expect Brown to walk away from his new three-year, $50-million deal (with $30 million guaranteed).

The Raiders believe that Brown will show up at training camp in Napa next week (they had a walkthrough Friday and have a preseason game at the Coliseum on Saturday). Then again, the team also expected Brown to show up last Tuesday, but he saw another foot specialist and didn’t return to Napa the rest of the week.

The Raiders have been in contact with Brown and have been sending him different kind of helmets, league sources confirmed. All of which Brown has rejected. According to ESPN, Brown thinks that the new, certified helmets protrude out and interfere with his vision when he is trying to catch the football.

Brown has even tried to sneak the old helmet onto the practice field, according to the NFL Network, but the Raiders have held firm. The league announced in April that it would be punishing teams if the new helmet rules were broken.

(Brown prefers the Schutt Air Advantage helmet, which is no longer certified by the National Operating Committee for Standards and Athletic Equipment.)

Brown, his agent Drew Rosenhaus, Raiders coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock won’t even comment on the frostbite issue, let alone the helmet one.

Suffice to say that the air has gone out quickly from Brown’s arrival since he flew into Napa in a hot air balloon two weeks ago.

If coaches and teammates thought that running back Marshawn Lynch did whatever he wanted to do last season, Brown has taken it to a new level this year. He makes Lynch look like a company man. From Brown having his kids on the sidelines and playing with them during practice to not attending meetings while he has been out with the injury, Brown is making up his own rules.

Why do the Raiders put up with it? Simple: Brown is still an elite receiver and when he does practice, it is at a feverish pace that pushes teammates to a higher level. And even with the blistered feet, Brown’s 30-minute appearance in practice on July 30 made all the team’s headaches go away. He tortured Raiders defensive backs, even without the ability to make hard cuts because of his bad feet.

Brown burned bridges on his way out of Pittsburgh last season. He didn’t play in a game with playoff implications because of a dispute with Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, and then went on a national media tour burying the franchise’s management. The Raiders knew what they were getting, but figured with the new contract, Brown would be content for at least a couple of seasons.

Instead, they’ve got a receiver with frostbitten feet who doesn’t want to wear the new helmet.

Can’t really blame the Raiders for not seeing that one coming.