Derek Carr Not Concerned About Antonio Brown's Absence From Raiders Camp

NAPA -- Antonio Brown made a dramatic entrance to Raiders training camp Friday, when the star wide receiver rode a hot air balloon into wine country. 

Unfortunately for Brown and the Raiders, the four-time All-Pro selection also landed himself on the non-football injury list, with what is expected to be a minor ailment. 

The Raiders officially opened camp Saturday with Brown on the NFI list, but quarterback Derek Carr sees no reason to be concerned about his new receiver's absence.

"You guys will see AB soon enough," Carr told the media after practice. "He's fine. We'll see him soon enough and how awesome he is." 

Brown and Carr have worked diligently in the offseason to build their chemistry. While the former Steelers star draws a lot of attention to himself with his social-media antics, Carr has been floored by the worker and person Brown is, especially the stuff the media and fans don't get to see. 

"AB doesn't get enough credit for how he is," Carr said. "You know what I mean? He is a little bit like (Tyrell Williams), but also, everyone just watches him on Instagram and thanks he's just loud -- man that guy works his tail off. He'll do anything you ask him to do, right? He's a great friend. He's always great with my kids. My kids have probably thrown him more balls than I have, right? But that's the stuff people don't know about him."

[RELATED: Gruden laughs off AB's balloon entry, expects 'more drama']

With Brown not on the field Saturday, Carr flashed good chemistry with his expected No. 2 receiver Tyrell Williams, rookie Hunter Renfrow and Keon Hatcher. 

During the offseason, head coach Jon Gruden and general manager Mike Mayock made a concerted effort to reshape the Raiders' offense, giving Carr more weapons than he's had at any point in his career. The additions have raised expectations both for Carr and the Raiders as a whole. It's an exciting time for Carr and the Silver and Black. 

"What I know and what I share is two different things sometimes, right?" Carr said. "There's never been a time in my life where I took the field and thought we were going to lose. What's different about this year is the guys that we added -- you can tell if you just sat back and watched us practice, you watch people communicate, the little details --pre-snap you watch our defense communicate, it's just different. It's professional. 

"It's how it's supposed to be right? We're laying a foundation that hopefully, we want to turn around and in 16 games like everybody in camp. Last to first. That's everyone's goal. But we are doing right now is laying a good, solid foundation with good, solid people and in my heart I definatley believe that they believe that we can win. What they think is, 'Hey, we can beat everybody.'"

The first day of laying a foundation was successful for Carr and the Raiders. Now, they await the return of one of the key ingredients to their turnaround. 

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