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Raiders head coach Jon Gruden says the loss of Antonio Brown is why Oakland’s offense has struggled so far this year.
I am guessing he means that in the same way that he thought the Raiders defense struggled last season after the loss of Khalil Mack.
After winning their first game of the season, sans Brown, Gruden said he was never going to bring the subject of Antonio Brown up again.
“We were good in the preseason without him. We’re going to be fine without him,” Gruden also said at the time.
Related: Jon Gruden Gets Testy When Asked About Khalil Mack Decision, Discusses Interest In Antonio Brown
Two weeks later, and two losses later, in which the Raiders scored a combined 24 points (while giving up 62), he says the team would have been better if Brown had stuck around, reports Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com.
“It’s caused us a little bit of … rethinking,” Gruden said Wednesday of Brown’s departure and the subsequent impact on the wideout group. “When you lose your starting ‘Z,’ who arguably is a great player, I don’t think anyone’s going to dispute that you have to replace him. And we’re making an effort to move Tyrell [Williams] around; we’re bringing on some younger guys. J.J. Nelson also got hurt; don’t forget that. He was hurt. Dwayne Harris got hurt, so we’ve had some multiple things to deal with, and we’re dealing with them.”
Hey Chucky, guess who is now very much available and is ready to make a comeback after being retired from the NFL for almost four whole days?
Will not be playing in the @NFL anymore these owners can cancel deals do whatever they want at anytime we will see if the @NFLPA hold them accountable sad they can just void guarantees anytime going on 40m 2 months will see if they pay up !
— AB (@AB84) September 22, 2019
I’m still the best why stop now
— AB (@AB84) September 26, 2019