Antonio Brown speaks.
The Oakland Raiders receiver read a 20-second statement after practice Friday, noting that he apologized to his teammates for the upheaval he's caused. He took no questions.
"I'm excited to be out here today," a monotone Brown said. "I apologized to my teammates and the organization. Enough talk, man. I'm excited to be out here with my teammates. I'm grateful for all the fans. I'm excited to be a part of the Raiders and see you guys soon."
"Enough talk" would be music to Jon Gruden's ears, if it holds longer than 24 hours.
In a whirlwind couple of days, it was Brown's talking that got him in hot water. First came, the fine letter from Raiders general manager Mike Mayock that Brown incurred for missing training camp practices. Irked by the penalty, Brown published the letter on Instagram.
On Wednesday, the veteran receiver then confronted the GM resulting in a blowup in which he unleashed a barrage of curse words at Mayock.
On Thursday, after the incident, word spread that the Raiders were considering punishing Brown further, even potentially going so far as to suggest suspending the star wideout and going after the $30 million guaranteed left on his contract. It seemed unlikely he'd play Week 1.
Then Friday brought an about-face.
After Brown apologized to teammates at a morning meeting, Gruden told reporters before practice that "the plan" was for the receiver to play Monday night versus the Denver Broncos.
Within the Raiders' building, apparently, they never believed Brown wouldn't be on the field in Week 1.
"I expected him to play all along," offensive coordinator Greg Olson said Friday.
With Brown apologizing for his actions to the team and now publicly, the hope is he can get back to what he does best: play football.
The football starts Monday night -- unless another unforeseen incident emerges from the wilderness in the next 72 hours. Stay tuned.
