Oakland Raiders wideout Antonio Brown practiced on Tuesday with an approved helmet, putting aside a second grievance with the NFL over his headwear — at least for one morning.
“It’s a certified helmet, so he’s all in and ready to go. That’s my understanding,” coach Jon Gruden said during a post-practice press conference. “I’m really happy to have him out here. He’s a great player.”
Brown reportedly filed a second grievance with the league on Monday in order to use his favored model — the Schutt AiR Advantage — hoping to get a one-year grace period. His old helmet is no longer approved for NFL use because it is more than 10 years old, and a newer model he found failed NFL testing.
An arbitrator will hear Brown’s grievance on Friday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Brown missed practice Sunday, after which Raiders general manager Mike Mayock said it was time for the All-Pro wideout “to be all in or all out.”
Before Tuesday, Brown had only one full-speed practice this preseason, in part because he was recovering from foot blisters caused by a cryotherapy mishap and lately because of his helmet issue.
Gruden indicated that Brown’s feet are fine.
“Good. He’s really good,” Gruden said.
“He’s shown great retention of what we’re doing. He didn’t miss the offseason program. He’s been here in meetings. Just good to have him back. He’s in great shape; he’s running hard and running good routes.”
The Raiders acquired the seven-time Pro Bowl selection from the Pittsburgh Steelers in a trade in March and later signed him to a three-year, $50,125,000 contract.
Brown, 31, caught at least 100 passes and exceeded 1,200 receiving yards in each of the past six seasons with the Steelers. He has appeared in 130 games with Pittsburgh from 2010-18, catching 837 passes for 11,207 yards and 74 touchdowns.
