Hours after the Raiders released Antonio Brown, coach Jon Gruden insisted the team "tried every way possible to make it work” with the star wide receiver.
"We just have exhausted everything," Gruden told reporters Saturday in Alameda. " ... All I'm gonna say is it's disappointing. 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 I'm very proud of what we did as an organization to try."
The Raiders reportedly fined Brown $215,073.53 on Friday night for conduct detrimental to the team, allowing them to void the $29.125 million in contract guarantees that the receiver was owed. Brown asked the Raiders to release him in an Instagram post Saturday, and he told multiple reporters he would not play for the team after his guarantees were voided.
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The Raiders obliged Saturday morning, ending Brown's bizarre time in Oakland just shy of six months after the team acquired him from the Pittsburgh Steelers for two draft picks.
Brown confronted Mayock on Wednesday after the Raiders fined him for missing practice and a walk-through, and the receiver returned to practice Friday to apologize to his (now-former) teammates and issue a short statement to the assembled media. On Friday night, Brown posted a stylishly edited YouTube video featuring what seemed to be a private phone conversation with Gruden.
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Gruden said Saturday he was disappointed he wouldn't have a chance to coach Brown, and "a series of things" led to the Raiders cutting ties with the 31-year-old. Still, Gruden said he wished Brown "the very best."
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"I was very hopeful about what he could bring here," Gruden said. "Unfortunately, it's not going to happen. And I'll tell ya: He's a good guy. He's misunderstood by a lot of people, but he is a good guy. He's a great player, and I hope he gets what he's looking for, and I'm gonna close it with that."
Gruden and the Raiders will open the 2019 season Monday night against the Denver Broncos. Brown, meanwhile, can sign with another team as soon as 1:01 p.m. PT on Saturday.