Brown saga thickens as Broncos visit Raiders

Antonio Brown's arrival in Oakland was supposed to represent recharging of the offense. Instead, it has been nothing but a headache. Brown is expected to be suspended for Monday's season opener against the visiting Denver Broncos after his antics led to a near-physical altercation with general manager Mike Mayock on Wednesday, according to multiple reports Thursday.

Brown's suspension was widely reported, but the Raiders stopped short of confirming it, though coach Jon Gruden told reporters he is tired of talking about Brown. "I'm emotional about it, I hope you understand why. I think a lot of this guy," Gruden said after Thursday's practice. "I think Antonio is a great receiver, and deep down I think he's a really good guy. So, I'm frustrated, I'm not going to say anything more about it, hope it all works out."

Brown, a seven-time Pro Bowl selection, wore out his welcome with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and it seemed to be a worthy move when Oakland acquired him in March for third- and fifth-round picks. The Raiders later signed Brown to a three-year, $50.125 million deal. But training camp was filled with drama, ranging from the cryotherapy treatment that caused frostbite on his feet, to Brown losing two grievances against the NFL in a battle to wear a helmet ruled to be outdated, to $53,950 in fines for skipping a practice ($40,000) and a walkthrough ($13,950).

Brown ratcheted up the tension by posting a letter from Mayock about the fines on his Instagram account on Wednesday. Then came the furious exchange of words, a day before he was listed as a non-participant -- per the team, "not injury related - conduct" -- for practice. Brown's agent, Drew Rosenhaus, is hoping his client will play in the opener.

"That's up to the Raiders," Rosenhaus told ESPN. "If it's up to us, he would like to play. But ultimately that's going to be their decision. He would like to honor his contract and fulfill his commitment to the Raiders. That's what we're trying to hammer out with the team right now." The situation regarding Brown is overshadowing the start of the season in which Oakland is trying to rebound from a 4-12 mark.

Raiders quarterback Derek Carr passed for a career-high 4,039 yards last season but had a career-low 19 touchdowns. Denver will be unveiling a new quarterback in Joe Flacco, who was acquired in the offseason from the Baltimore Ravens.

The 34-year-old figures to be an upgrade over the likes of recent signal-callers such as Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch and Case Keenum and has quickly ingratiated himself with stellar receiver Emmanuel Sanders. "Flacco's a baller," Sanders told reporters. "Probably one of my favorite quarterbacks of all time, him and Peyton (Manning). They're close. I'm looking forward to going on Sundays and competing with him because I know what type of guy he is."

Flacco started 163 regular-season games over 11 seasons with the Ravens while passing for 38,245 yards and 212 touchdowns. He also was Super Bowl MVP in the big game following the 2012 season when he passed for 287 yards and three touchdowns in a 34-31 victory over the San Francisco 49ers. Now Flacco is charged with getting Denver back to the postseason after missing the stage in three straight seasons. In fact, the Broncos were just 11-21 over the past two campaigns, posting back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 1971-72.

"The goal is that 17 weeks from now, we're still preparing for games," Flacco said. The Broncos have a new head coach in Vic Fangio -- who was on the losing side of Flacco's Super Bowl triumph -- but the same old stars on the defensive side in linebacker Von Miller and cornerback Chris Harris.

Miller has 98 career sacks in eight seasons, and Harris has 19 career interceptions in eight campaigns.