NAPA – Antonio Brown typically is on the sidelines during Raiders training camp practices his ailing feet won't let him join. Not so the last few days, and for good reason.
The Raiders receiver left camp to see a foot specialist on Saturday, a league source confirmed to NBC Sports Bay Area. The Athletic was first to report the news.
The issue is not considered to be a long-term problem, though both team and player want to get it resolved and get Brown back on the practice field.
Head coach Jon Gruden hasn't addressed the nature of the injury that landed Brown on the non-football injury list and has kept him from all but one legitimate practice session this camp.
The receiver posted gnarly pictures on his Instagram Story on Tuesday night showing the bottom of his feet peeling significantly, with thick portions of his skin coming off.
In case you were wondering if it's a good idea to catch bricks wearing Versace loafers pic.twitter.com/4EDdEIb4M7— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) August 1, 2019
Sports
Cc: @AB84 IG
This man trained so hard the bottom of his foot coming off! pic.twitter.com/jlbvBNX0nD— Kenny King Jr (@KennyKing_Jr) July 31, 2019
Brown has missed six practices to this stage – he joined a pre-practice walk-through period that isn't being counted here -- and is bound to miss a few more until his feet get right and he can return to work.
The Raiders don't consider his absence a huge deal, but they are disappointed in how long this is taking to work out.
"I think we're all disappointed (Brown isn't practicing)," Gruden said on Friday. "I think he's disappointed. We'd like to get the party started. We'd like to get him out here.
[RELATED: Hudson's academic approach to Raiders' offensive front]
Brown's a hard worker who enjoys practice work, and certainly wishes he was back and healthy by this point.
Right now the wait continues, as Brown and the Raiders search for ways to expedite the healing process.
