Raiders Release Antonio Brown And Las Vegas Reacts

Well, goodbye Oakland. And hello New England. 

The drams and mercurial behavior of Antonio Brown is over in Oakland. The Raiders released the troublesome wide receiver Saturday. 

Just five hours later, Brown was signed by the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. Brown will not play against his former team Sunday night when the Patriots host the Steelers, but is expected to be ready to go Week 2 when the Patriots play the Dolphins in Miami.

Bookmakers in Las Vegas and 12 other states with legal sports betting had already moved Monday night’s line from Pick ‘em to Denver a 2-point favorite on Friday when news broke that the Raiders were likely to suspend Brown for conduct detrimental to the team.

But on Saturday, Brown posted on his Instragram account that he wanted to be released. “You are gonna piss a lot of people off when you start doing what’s best for you,” with the caption, “And that’s fine! Brown continued and finished his post with “Release me @raiders.”

The Raiders obliged, and also voided his $29 million in guarantee money after they issued him another fine.

Brown posted on Instragram “I’m free!” But as sports columnist Ed Graney points out in the Las Vegas Review Journal, perhaps Antonio Brown’s antics with the Raiders could signal deeper issues, like mental health or even chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

Brown’s YouTube video post shows his continued irregular behavior. It includes some NSFW language with captions and a private telephone conversation with Raiders head coach Jon Gruden.

Regardless, Brown never played a snap for the Raiders following his trade from Pittsburgh to Oakland in March. 

The question now is are the Raiders ready for their Monday night match-up with Denver, and will they be focused following the sideshow and distraction of Brown?

The Westgate SuperBook and Caesars properties in Las Vegas has moved the Broncos to a 2.5-point favorite Monday night. 

FanDuel Sportsbook in New Jersey also has the Broncos -2.5 while MGM properties and William Hill in Nevada and New Jersey have the Broncos a 2-point favorite. Back in April, the Raiders opened a 3-point favorite when the SuperBook made opening lines for Week 1 well in advance of the season.

Many things have changed around the NFL since, including the retirement of Colts QB Andrew Luck. That surprising news also caused a shakeup in the Week 1 lines as the Chargers went from a 3-point favorite against the Colts to a 6.5-point choice.