Antonio Brown’s antics in Pittsburgh have undoubtedly scared away some teams that would otherwise be willing to trade for him. But there’s one other coach who we know thinks of Brown as the kind of guy he’d like to have on his practice field.
That coach is Jon Gruden, who said last year before his Raiders played the Steelers that he had previously visited Pittsburgh when preparing to call a Steelers game for ESPN and thought very highly of Brown.
“The greatest thing about this man is, I’ve told all our receivers: If you get a chance to watch him practice, you’ll see what unlocks the greatness in him. He’s the hardest working man, I think, in football,” Gruden said. “Hardest working player I’ve ever seen practice, and I’ve seen Jerry Rice, I’ve seen a lot of good ones. But I put Antonio Brown at the top. And if there’s any young wideouts out there, I’d go watch him practice and you’ll see for yourself why he’s such a good player.”
Gruden’s perception is a far cry from the image of Brown we’ve heard coming out of Pittsburgh this offseason. Gruden thinks Brown is exactly the kind of guy he’d want on his team -- perhaps a guy he’ll trade for soon.