NAPA – Antonio Brown has missed most of Raiders training camp with a foot problem you don't want to see pictures of just before lunch. The star receiver has been sidelined for six of seven practices thus far, with no timetable for return.
Brown was scheduled to see a foot specialist, a league source told NBC Sports Bay Area on Saturday, so it's uncertain when he'll be cleared from an issue that, before seeing the specialist, was considered minor.
Quarterback Derek Carr obviously wants to work with Brown as much as possible heading into the 2019 regular season, but isn't stressed over his absence and doesn't believe it will have a lasting impact on their chemistry.
Right now, Carr is hoping for a swift recovery.
"Every rep you miss is important. That's how I've looked at it," Carr said Saturday. "We wish the healing process of whatever is going on with him will be fast. At the same time, we can't rush things for training camp when you have a season and hopefully a playoff run to think about.
"The trainers know more than the players do. We just know that we'll welcome him back and hopefully hit the ground running."
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Odds of that are great, considering how much time Brown and Carr spent together this offseason.
"We spent a lot of time at my house, and hours and hours throwing," Carr said. "There is chemistry there. I'm used to throwing him the ball. It will be more on him and the details of the routes by getting out and doing it and correcting mistakes he sees on film the next day.
"Besides that, the timing aspect of things, the meat and potatoes of what we need, it's there. There are just those details that need to get ironed out."
This isn't just podium speak. Carr and Brown worked out incessantly this offseason, and one should look to Tuesday's practice for proof the pair can pick up right where they left off.
Carr hit Brown downfield, in stride, several times during Brown's lone practice session. He skipped team drills that day, but showed pretty well against several members of the Raiders' secondary.
"It was awesome, right?" Carr said. "There was good timing. I'm always hard on ball placement, and we missed on a go route but hit another one and a deep corner route.
"The timing is clearly there, but we just want to be 100 percent. We want to strive for that."
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Carr hasn't seen photos of Brown's feet peeling in large, thick chunks of skin, but knows they are circulating. He didn't want to see them Saturday when given the opportunity.
"I'm good," Carr said. "I might throw up. I don't know."
