Antonio Brown Is The Big Splash The Raiders Needed

Photo Credit: Joe Sargent/Getty Images

One season left in Oakland. That short amount of time is all the Raiders have left before they abandon the city for the bright lights of Las Vegas. Oakland tried their best to kick Mark Davis’ franchise out early. The Raiders then flirted with in San Francisco or San Diego for year. At the end of the day, the Raiders returned to Oakland for one last hurrah, and traded for Antonio Brown to make sure fans actually show up to games.

We won’t recount the Antonio Brown saga here, just know this; after a falling out with the Steelers and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, Brown forced his way out of town. At31-years-old, the elite wide receiver wanted  a fresh start and a new payday. The Raiders are giving him both, bringing him to the West Coast and making him the highest paid wide receiver in the league.

With Derek Carr his knew stablemate, all eyes will be on Brown to see if he can finish his seventh straight season with 1,200 receiving yards. We’ll soon know the answer to whether or not the quarterback makes the wide receiver; Carr, after all, has suffered criticism for his failures to be an explosive quarterback since nearly winning the MVP award two seasons ago.

Is Antonio Brown the missing piece? Does the trade suddenly make the team relevant again on year after trading away the best pass rush in the league?