Why Jerry Rice is buying the Antonio Brown-Patriots conspiracy theory

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The last few days have worked out quite nicely for Antonio Brown.

... Too nicely, if you ask Jerry Rice.

Rice joined 95.7 The Game in San Francisco on Monday to discuss Brown's shocking release from the Oakland Raiders on Saturday and subsequent signing with the New England Patriots.

Rice's take on the Brown saga?

"We all got played, man. We did," Rice said.

More specifically, the Hall of Fame wide receiver and former Raider believes Brown wanted to come to the Patriots ever since his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and engineered his own departure from Oakland via a highly-publicized spat with general manager Mike Mayock.

"I think when he asked to be released from the Steelers, he wanted to go to the Patriots," Rice said of Brown. "He wanted them to trade him to the Patriots. And there was no way that the Steelers would trade him to a rival. So he had to go a different route. And he decided to come through the Bay Area. And I feel sorry for the fans over in Oakland."

There's some evidence to support Rice's theory: The Patriots reportedly offered Pittsburgh a first-round pick for Brown back in March, but Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert didn't want to do business with New England.

A report also surfaced Sunday that Brown sought advice from social media consultants about how to "accelerate" his release from Oakland. The veteran wideout apparently succeeded in that endeavor, asking the Raiders to cut him after posting Mayock's letter about his fine and a private phone call with head coach Jon Gruden on Instagram.

To Rice, it seems too convenient that Brown would land on the defending champion Patriots just after leaving a struggling Raiders franchise.

"I think it was pretty much already planned," Rice said. " ... He was a Denzel Washington and he won the Oscar. He won an Oscar, guys."

The NFL reportedly has no plans to investigate New England's signing of Brown or his actions in Oakland, so it sounds like the league will have to deal with the rich getting richer.

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